0 views
MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens let an early two-goal lead slip away on Thursday night, falling 5-2 to the Nashville Predators at Bell Centre as the visitors scored five unanswered goals.
Nick Suzuki gave Montreal a 1-0 lead in the second period, collecting a loose puck during a scramble and banking a backhander in for his third goal in four games. Alex Newhook made it 2-0 a few minutes later, flipping a shot over the goaltender’s glove on a centring pass after a strong forecheck.
Nashville’s comeback started before the period ended. A tipped point shot cut the lead to 2-1, and a power-play goal from a crease pileup tied the game 2-2 in the final minute of the second — a goal upheld after a video review that examined whether the net had been dislodged.
The Predators took the lead for good late in regulation on a power-play tip in the slot, then sealed the result with two empty-net goals in the final three minutes. Nashville’s goaltender made 32 saves, including a left-pad stop on a third-period breakaway that kept Montreal from tying the game.
Montreal’s crease carried its own story. With the starting goaltender injured at practice a day earlier and his absence still undetermined, a 21-year-old recalled from the American Hockey League made his season debut and finished with 15 saves.
An apparent early Montreal goal was wiped out after Nashville successfully challenged for offside, a reminder of how quickly the night’s momentum turned: a disallowed opener, a two-goal lead, then five straight against.
The result left Montreal at 1-2-1, with three straight games without a win. Nashville improved to 2-1-1 and took its first road victory of the season, with its coach conceding the performance was far from clean but praising the grind to finish it.
For the Canadiens, the lesson is in the middle period: a lead built on forechecking and finish disappeared in under five minutes. Protecting the front of their own net — on tips, scrambles and reviews alike — is the obvious place to start before the next home date.
