Game 4: Canadiens vs. Predators – Bounce Back Effort Needed

It’s only been three games, but the Montreal Canadiens have already got some fans worried. From the shaky defense to the injury Ninja taking out three regulars from the lineup and potentially a fourth now, with Samuel Montembeault’s status unknown, it hasn’t been all fun and games in Montreal. After three games, the Sainte-Flanelle only has three points to its name and sits in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, an underwhelming start, to say the least.

On Thursday night, Martin St-Louis’ men will have a chance to bounce back as they host the Nashville Predators, who share the Tricolore's record: 1-1-1 with a minus-two goal differential. The Preds are fresh off a heartbreaking 5-4 OT loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road. Andrew Brunette’s team took a 3-0 lead before the Leafs clawed back and eventually won.

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The visitors have a few new players on the roster this season: Jack Drury, Ross Colton, Adam Edstrom, Mavrik Bourque, and Alexander Kerfoot, among others. They've also added William Trudeau through waivers, a product of the Canadiens' organization, and the defenseman should play tonight. Last year, the Canadiens won both duels between the two teams. They won 3-2 in overtime at the Bell Centre in October, thanks to a Cole Caufield buzzer-beater, and 4-1 in Nashville at the end of March.

Jakub Dobes was in net for the October win and has a 2-0-0 career record against the Preds with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. However, he didn't start the last three games, and since his last game wasn’t great, it stands to reason St-Louis would start someone else for Tuesday night’s tilt. It could have been Montembeault’s season debut, but if he did indeed get injured in practice yesterday, that scenario is highly unlikely. Still, the Becancour native has a 4-1-0 record against the visitors with a 2.76 GAA and a .917 SP. If he can't play, Jacob Fowler has been called up and could make his own season debut after a short stay in Laval. He’s won his only game against Nashville and has a 1.00 GAA and a .958 SV.

Juuse Saros, who was in net for the Preds’ first three games, has a 5-3-2 record against the Habs with a 2.91 GAA and a .899 SV. As for backup Matt Murray, he's never faced the Canadiens, but he’s a 28-year-old who has played four NHL games so far, and if Justus Annunen weren’t injured, he wouldn’t be in the running for the next start.

Up front, Chris Kreider and Cole Caufield are the Habs' most productive players against Nashville; both have recorded 11 points. However, the former did it in 22 games, while the latter only needed 10 games to reach the same total. Captain Nick Suzuki completes the top three with 10 points in 11 games. He has six points in the last two games, while Kreider has four in the same time span.

As for the Preds, Steve Stamkos has 52 points in 55 games against the Habs and leads the visitors. Ryan O’Reilly is their second-highest-producing player with 27 points in 33 games, while Jonathan Marchesseault comes in third with 17 points in 23 games. Stamkos leads the team in points this season with four.

The Canadiens have won seven of the last 10 games between the two teams, including the last five. The game is set for 7:00 PM, and you can catch it on RDS in French and on TSN 2 in English.  Cody Beach and Kendrick Nicholson will be the referees, and Caleb Apperson and Jonathan Deschamps the linesmen. 

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