Predators Take Down Canadiens With a Late Surge

From the first puck drop, the Predators lacked offensive intensity while simultaneously lacking a cohesive effort on the blue line. Montreal caught Nashville sleeping and took full advantage, dominating the Predators with long possessions, but the Predators battled back to steal the win.

If you can't get a shot off, you aren't going to score many goals. That simple fact wrecked Nashville in the early going on Thursday night's victory to the Canadiens, ultimately winning 4-2. Two days after dropping a hard-fought overtime game to the Maple Leafs, Nashville climbs to 2-1-1 in the second of a three-game road stint across Canada.

Through the first 20 minutes of the game, the scorebored read even. However, the tide felt heavily in favor of the Canadiens. Montreal seemed to record the first tally of the game, but it was later challenged and ruled a no-goal. That means Nashville is 3-3 in challenged goals against this season.

Despite erasing the score from the stat sheet, the Canadiens continued to overwhelm the Predators and goaltender Juuse Saros. The flurry of attacks finally paid off in the second period. Montreal's Nick Suzuki opened the floodgates, scoring the first goal of the game. Alex Newhook followed soon after to put the Canadiens up 2-0.

As the middle frame was winding down, Alexander Kerfoot landed a much-needed goal for the Predators with five minutes until the break. Matthew Wood capitalized on the sudden surge. Nashville's fourth-leading scorer from a year ago notched his first goal of the campaign amidst a frenzy at the net. The ladder of the two goals tied up the game 2-2 with less than a minute left in the period, a score that would follow into the final third despite Montreal outshooting Nashville 25-13.

The final outcome doesn't totally reflect the competitiveness of the game. Through 55 minutes on the ice, the two sides were deadlocked. The deciding moment came during a power play for the Predators. Ryan O'Reilly put Nashville on top against the shorthanded Canadiens.

Across the final minutes of the game, Adam Edstrom took advantage of Montreal's empty net. He added two more goals to ice the game. Edstrom's late-game double feature made him the first player in the Predators' team history to score two empty-net goals in the same game.

The clutch victory puts Nashville back in the win column, and for the first time on the road this season. The win finally flashed the Predators' closing capabilities. Late-game stumbles have been a plague in the early stages of the campaign. These are the types of wins that are crucial to a new-look team trying to find its identity. This weekend, we will see if they can do it again while facing a divisional foe.

Next time out, the Predators will round out their tour of Canada to face the Ottawa Senators at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Canadian Tire Centre.