Game 72: Montreal Canadiens @ Nashville Predators
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Predators region: FanDuel Sports Network South
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Nashville Predators made headlines for their moves in summer of 2024, but all the commentary last season focused on how much of a disappointment the team that looked so good on paper turned out to be once the games started. They ended up in 30th place with a -60 goal differential, far from what was expected after adding Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault.
This year things were going slightly better when mid-March arrived, at least claiming one more win than regulation losses, but a 29-28-9 record still had them fifth in the wild-card race with a month to play.
Fortunately for them, it doesn’t take much to move up in the Western Conference this season, and five consecutive wins in an eight-day span from March 17 to 24, mostly versus teams around them in the wild-card race, has boosted them to the eighth and final playoff spot. It’s not a comfortable position, but they’re currently one of the few teams in the conference confident in their ability to win a game.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Predators |
|---|---|---|
| 40-21-10 | Record | 34-29-9 |
| 48.9% (22nd) | Expected-goal share | 50.5% (15th) |
| 3.51 (3rd) | Goals per game | 2.96 (19th) |
| 3.18 (25th) | Goals against per game | 3.31 (26th) |
| 24.8% (4th) | PP% | 23.1% (12th) |
| 76.4% (27th) | PK% | 80.6% (12th) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-0-1 |
| Cole Caufield (44) | Most goals | Steven Stamkos (36) |
| Nick Suzuki (62) | Most assists | Ryan O’Reilly (42) |
| Nick Suzuki (86) | Most points | Ryan O’Reilly (66) |
The biggest difference from last season to this is that they’ve been able to score more goals, improving from an average of 2.59 in 2024-25 to a current rate of 2.96 per game. The finishing touch that abandoned Stamkos last year is back, and thanks to a four-game goal-scoring streak he’s now up to 36 on the season. Those goals haven’t come at the expense of linemate Ryan O’Reilly who is just four off his career high of 28, nor the one bright spot of Nashville’s offence last season, Filip Forsberg, who has 33. Stamkos’s revival is giving the team two effective scoring lines, and that proved too much of a challenge for some of the other teams in the west in the past handful of games.
Perhaps after so many big head-to-head matches versus their fellow wild-card hopefuls, Nashville took a game versus the New Jersey Devils too lightly on Thursday, losing 4-2 to bring their winning streak to a halt. It is an understandable drop when playing out-of-conference games, especially as they finish their season with another block of matches against the teams in the wild-card race. The points they lost to the Devils don’t count against them in the standings, and that will be the same tonight in their final home game versus the Montreal Canadiens before embarking on a six-game road trip that will probably determine if they can hang on to their spot.
The situation works both ways in tonight’s game as the Canadiens also completed a tough schedule versus teams in their own conference. This game could be seen as a chance to relax a bit, but the two points count just the same. Like the trip the Predators will pack for after the game, the five-game journey that begins tonight for Montreal is of critical importance to their post-season hopes.
The fact that the Habs have had difficult starts in their last two matches might be a positive thing to help prevent a letdown. They didn’t cruise through their recent victories by any means, and they know they need to change the way they prepare for the opening puck drop. This game is a chance to put in the work and correct that trend, and they’ve proven that once they get up to speed they’re hard to contain, even for a team on a hot streak.
