Cole Caufield scored his 45th goal of the season to lift the Canadiens (41-21-10) to a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena.
The goal was also Caufield’s 20th in 21 Saturday games on the season.
Jacob Fowler made 23 saves and only a goal by Zachary L’Heureux off a fortuitous bounce off the glass robbed him of his second career shutout.
He also rocked a new mask with a nod to Quebec licence plates, which drew the praise of Premier François Legault.
Forward Josh Anderson left the game in the second period due to an illness and did not return.
The Canadiens outshot the Predators 9-3 in the first period and jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Ivan Demidov scored off a laser beam that went post and in on Juuse Saros, while Nick Suzuki picked up his 300th career assist.
The first period ended with both teams jousting in the corner after Preds forward Luke Evangelista ran over Fowler.
In the second period, the Canadiens scored three unanswered goals. The offensive onslaught started with Oliver Kapanen near the crease, banging home the loose puck that originally came out of Saros’ glove. With an assist, Lane Hutson became the first defenceman in team history to record consecutive 60-assist seasons.
That was followed by two goals in a span of 1:37. Caufield caused the turnover with a hit and carried the puck into prime shooting real estate before beating Saros with a quick shot.
Then Alex Newhook continued a strong night for the second line by blasting a one-timer home for the fourth goal of the night. All three members of the second line — Newhook, Demidov, Kapanen — had two points apiece. It allowed Demidov to tie, at least temporarily, for the rookie points lead, while Kapanen was tied for most goals by a freshman.
In the third period, the Predators finally solved Fowler, but it was off an unexpected carom off the end boards that landed right in front for L’Heureux. The Montreal native dashed Fowler’s shutout bid, but that was all the offence the home team could muster.
The Canadiens are getting hot at the right time. With only 10 games remaining in the regular season, Montreal is in the midst of a four-game winning streak.
They’re two points ahead of the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division, but perhaps most importantly, the two teams on the outside of the playoff picture sit six points back of the Habs. A tough mountain for the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings to climb.
So while Montreal has yet to clinch a playoff spot, and no one has in the Eastern Conference, their current heater has given them breathing room. It also puts some pressure off Sunday’s rubber match of their weekend back-to-back. The Hurricanes will be looking for revenge after Tuesday’s thumping.
As for Caufield, the list of 20-goal scorers on Saturday night for the Habs is a who’s who of snipers: Jean Beliveau, Bernie Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur and Stephane Richer all did it twice, while Joe Malone did it once.
After two game-saving outings from Jakub Dobes this week, it was no doubt reassuring for head coach Martin St. Louis to see Fowler look comfortable in goal after a weeklong layoff. Dobes can now go in fresh vs. the Canes.
Demidov appears to be over a rough stretch and is back to his scoring ways. He’s got four points in his last three games. Like the team, the second line could also be getting hot at an opportune time. Here’s how it looked on Hockey Stat Cards’ impact card.
It was such a rare, calm third period on the Hockey Inside Out YouTube livestream that commenters could talk about other things: their favourite players, where they live and how they feel about Mikes’ subs. And, of course, they had thoughts on the game:
3. Way to go boys. Great way to start your road trip! Keep it up tomorrow!
2. Great 60 minutes for the Canadiens, a team effort.
1. Reminds me of dead skunk in the middle of the road … (Fowler) shudda looked left.
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