The Nashville Predators erased a two-goal deficit and scored five unanswered goals to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Thursday night, with Ryan O’Reilly redirecting the winner on a power play with just over three minutes remaining.
Montreal controlled long stretches and outshot Nashville by a wide margin, but goaltender Juuse Saros kept the visitors close with 32 saves. The Canadiens lost for the third straight game despite building a lead that had the Bell Centre crowd in full voice during the second period.
After a scoreless first period, captain Nick Suzuki opened the scoring early in the second during four-on-four play, collecting a loose puck in front and finishing past Saros. Alex Newhook doubled the lead minutes later, converting a feed from Josh Anderson after sustained pressure in Nashville’s zone.
The game turned before the period ended. Alexander Kerfoot deflected a point shot to halve the deficit, and Matthew Wood tied the score on a power play in the final minute of the second. The equaliser came amid a crowded crease, moments after Anderson was penalised for cross-checking Steven Stamkos and dislodging the net.
The winner also grew out of a Montreal penalty. Defenceman Mike Matheson tripped Stamkos in the neutral zone, and on the ensuing power play O’Reilly tipped a point shot from captain Roman Josi past Jacob Fowler. Fowler, making his first start of the season after being recalled from the American Hockey League, stopped 15 shots.
Adam Edstrom added two empty-net goals to create a scoreline that flattered Nashville. Stamkos finished with two assists. The Predators had lost five straight meetings with Montreal dating back to March 2024, according to reports, making the comeback a notable early-season result.
For Montreal, the concern is not effort but conversion and discipline. The Canadiens generated enough shots to win, yet allowed a two-goal lead to vanish in less than a period and then took the penalty that decided the game. Coach and players will also wait on news about goaltender Sam Montembeault, whose apparent lower-body injury in practice forced Fowler’s recall.
Nashville moves on to Ottawa on Saturday, while Montreal hosts Detroit. One game will not define either season, but the pattern was clear: Saros gave the Predators time, and Montreal gave them the opening.
The game also underlined Montreal’s goaltending uncertainty. Fowler was promoted only hours after Montembeault left practice with an apparent leg or groin injury, and a 21-year-old making his first start of the season was asked to protect a lead against a veteran Nashville top line. He kept Montreal ahead for most of the night before the late power-play winner. Nashville, meanwhile, will take encouragement from winning while being outshot: Saros provided the platform, the second-period response showed scoring depth beyond its stars, and O’Reilly delivered in the decisive moment. Early-season standings are forgiving, but the habits shown here, good and bad, tend to travel.
Special teams decided the night. Nashville scored twice with the man advantage, including the winner, while Montreal’s early four-on-four goal was its only strike outside even-strength pressure. The Predators also blocked and cleared effectively in the final minutes before the empty-net goals removed doubt. For a team that had been outshot heavily, the result was built on the two areas coaches can control in a single game: goaltending and discipline at the decisive moment. Montreal will review the penalties that produced both turning points, the second-period equaliser and O’Reilly’s winner, as the clearest correctable fault in an otherwise strong performance.
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