Game 62: Montreal Canadiens @ Nashville Predators
Start time: **8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Predators region: Bally Sports South
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
You may have looked at the schedule as the current road trip was approaching and believed that a stop in Tennessee would be a nice reprieve from playing some of the perennial contenders in the Eastern Conference. But right now, there is no hotter team in the NHL than the Nashville Predators, who have won eight games in a row.
The winning streak started after a 9-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in the final game of a homestand, a loss that led to the now famous cancelling of a team trip to see U2 in Las Vegas. The Predators swept the next five games they played on the road, and carried that momentum back to Bridgestone Arena. All eight of the wins have been in regulation, and by at least two goals which they managed just 13 times in the first 54 games of the season.
With the 16 points earned, Nashville has risen from a place outside the final spot in the Western Conference to holding the second wild card. They need to extend this run a lot longer to move up to a seeded position in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche seven points ahead, but they have a five-point cushion on the teams behind. The run may have done enough to convince some clubs that thought they were in the wild-card race to sell at the deadline, and remove some of the pressure the Predators would have faced down the stretch.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Predators |
|---|---|---|
| 23-28-10 | Record | 35-25-2 |
| 45.0% (29th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 51.5% (13th) |
| 2.77 (27th) | Goals per game | 3.18 (15th) |
| 3.49 (27th) | Goals against per game | 3.06 (16th) |
| 19.3% (21st) | PP% | 19.7% (18th) |
| 74.2% (30th) | PK% | 76.2% (26th) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
The goal numbers are impressive over the run. The Predators are scoring an NHL-best 4.63 goals per game after averaging 2.96 in the first four months of the season. And they’re doing that with what is just a good power play, operating at 23.1%.
All 18 skaters, and even goaltender Juuse Saros, have a point, and all but two skaters have at least one goal. Roman Josi leads with 12 points in the eight games as he attempts to lead his team in scoring from his blue-line position for the fifth consecutive season. Gustav Nyquist, Cody Glass, and a healthy Filip Forsberg join him with four goals during the streak, Ryan O’Reilly has three, and seven more players have two, including the Canadiens’ 2013 first-round pick Michael McCarron, who recently signed a new extension with the team.
Nashville’s defence also ranks at the top since the run began, surrendering 1.63 per contest, for a per-game average goal differential of exactly three. The Florida Panthers, the second-best team during this time period, are outscoring opponents by an average of fewer than two.
The games Montreal played versus Florida and the Tampa Bay Lightning were tough tests that the Canadiens fared well in, but this one might be the most difficult of all. There are no weak lines that offer a break to the defence, meaning an extended period spent in their own zone as they’ve had in the second period of both games so far could see the Habs fall well behind. They’ll also be relying on Jake Allen, who has clearly been Montreal’s third-best goaltender this season, to limit the offence. What is always a loud crowd in Nashville will be arriving at the rink anticipating another blowout performance. Extending the point streak to three games on this trip and four overall might be an impossible task for the visitors.
