The Montreal Canadiens played their 3rd game of a 4-game road trip last night against the Nashville Predators in the Bridgestone Arena. As the Habs were looking to end a 2-game slump from back-to-back shootout losses and finally pick up 2 points in the standings. However, this wouldn’t be an easy task as they were playing the red-hot Nashville Predators who had won their last 8 games in a row. Not to mention when looking at the betting odds Montreal was a massive underdog.

The game didn’t start well for the Canadiens as they went down 15 minutes into the game when Filip Forsberg scored his 30th of the year. When Ryan O’Reilly won a battle in the Montreal corner and passed in front of the net to Luke Evangelista who passed it across to a wide-open Forsberg and just like that it was 1-0 Predators. The score stayed that way for the rest of the first period as the Preds led in the shot department 14-11.

In the second period, the Predators continued the pressure as 5 minutes into the period Gustav Nyquist got his 17th of the season, in a play which was almost a replica of the first goal. As it was another puck in front of the net by Forsberg who passed it to a wide-open Nyquist and made the score 2-0. However, despite the Canadiens’ defensive breakdowns they started holding the Predators in check and creating more offensive plays. The second period had a breakout of penalties but there was no scoring until 4 minutes left in the second when the puck was in the Nashville zone when a botched clear turned it over to Jake Evans. Evans passed it to a wide-open Brendan Gallagher who fired a wrist shot past Juuse Saros for his 10th goal of the season, making it 2-1. With the goal the Canadiens had all the momentum and they wouldn’t have to wait long to capitalize on another chance as Nashville lost the face-off and the puck went to David Savard who dumped it in from the blue line. But, the puck took a crazy bounce off the stanchion and went straight into the net as Saros was behind the net trying to get control of the puck. Savard’s 5th goal of the year only came 6 seconds apart from Gallaghers’ and it was all tied up at 2-2. However, there would be no further action in the second period, as the score stayed 2-2 with Montreal out-shooting Nashville 22-21 heading into the final frame.

After a relatively quiet first 12 minutes of the period, Nashville was in Montreal’s zone and Nyquist was behind the net and passed the puck to Ryan O’Reilly who was wide open and scored his 23rd of the year passing the blocker of Jake Allen. Allen started this game after not playing since February 24th against New Jersey. But, most of the goals tonight came from defensive errors as he finished the night with 25 saves. With that goal by O’Reilly, the score was 3-2 Preds and with the end in sight, it looked like it was going to be another close well-played Montreal loss. Nonetheless, 2 minutes later Joshua Roy forced a turnover off Roman Josi then brought it in by himself and fired a wrist shot passed Saros’ glove for his second of the year which was unassisted, making the score 3-3. The game was far from over and with 3 minutes left in the period Nashville was on the attack and a shot went in front to former Montreal Canadien Michael McCaron who scored. But, Martin St Louis, Canadiens head coach, challenged the play and it was determined that McCarron’s stick was too high in the air and the goal was disallowed for high-sticking.

Despite the boos the game continued this way until the end of regulation as it finished 3-3, and Montreal’s worst dreams became a reality. As this would be Montreal’s 3rd straight game which would head to an Overtime or Shootout. Montreal must have been fed up with the recent performances in the extra period because just 17 seconds into the period after an expiring Nashville penalty on Luke Evangelista, Montreal’s captain Nick Suzuki fired a wrist shot for his 25th goal of the year. The goal ended Nashville’s 8-game winning streak and got the Canadiens their 24th win of the season now sitting at 58 points, and 4 points away from Buffalo in the standings. The Habs look to continue the momentum as they close off the road series against the Carolina Hurricanes who are 6-3 in their last 10. Then they will head back home to play rival Toronto Maple Leafs. The wins will be hard to come by and will definitely be a big factor in how the Canadiens approach trade deadline day. As one of tonight’s goal scorers David Savard has piqued many team’s interest, will the Canadiens decide to trade him, and if so what for? Hopefully, all this will be answered in the upcoming weeks, as the Canadiens fans look forward to closing off this season on a positive note.