Sam Montembeault made 29 saves, and Patrik Laine scored his second power-play goal in two games, helping the Montreal Canadiens win 3-0 against the struggling Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Montembeault stopped all 13 shots he faced in the third period, earning his third shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.
Jake Evans contributed a goal and an assist, Laine scored during a 5-on-3 power play, and Joel Armia added an empty-net goal to seal the victory.
Captain Nick Suzuki and rookie defenseman Lane Hutson each recorded an assist, extending their point streaks to five games. The Canadiens improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game homestand.
Nashville’s Justus Annunen made 27 saves in his first start since being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
However, Annunen didn’t get much offensive help as the Predators lost their sixth straight game (0-3-3) and dropped to 2-8-4 on the road.
Before the game, Nashville announced that forward Ryan O’Reilly would be week-to-week with a lower-body injury. O’Reilly, a former Selke and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, is one game away from his 1,100th career NHL game.
While the Predators were on the power play, Jonathan Marchessault made a poor blind backhand pass from below the goal line in the offensive zone. This led to a quick rush the other way, with Evans keeping the puck and firing a shot from the left circle that beat Annunen to open the scoring at 7:50 of the first period.
Evans’ goal was his fifth in 26 games this season, compared to just seven in 82 games last year.
Laine made it 2-0 at 1:14 of the third period, blasting a shot from the left circle past Annunen. Laine was playing in his second game since recovering from a sprained knee sustained in the preseason.
Nashville nearly cut the lead in half later in the third, but referee Tom Chmielewski quickly waved off the goal, ruling that Gus Nyquist had kicked the puck into the net.
