Ryan O’Reilly scored the go-ahead goal on the power play with 3:16 remaining in the third period, lifting the visiting Nashville Predators to a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
With Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson serving a tripping penalty, O’Reilly redirected a point shot from captain Roman Josi that sailed past Jacob Fowler to give the Predators a 3-2 lead.
Defenseman Adam Edstrom sealed the win with a pair of empty-net goals for the Predators, who scored five unanswered goals to snap a five-game losing streak to the Canadiens.
Nashville’s Alexander Kerfoot and Matthew Wood each scored a goal during the second period and Juuse Saros made 32 saves.
Captain Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook each scored a goal in the second period for the Canadiens, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1).
Fowler turned aside 15 shots while making his first start of the season. He was promoted from Laval of the American Hockey League on Wednesday after fellow goaltender Sam Montembeault left practice due to an apparent lower-body injury.
The teams were skating four aside when Suzuki wired a sharp backhand shot past Saros to open the scoring 3:12 into the second period. The goal was Suzuki’s third of the season.
Josh Anderson forced a turnover behind the Nashville net and threaded a feed to Newhook, who converted from in close to double the advantage at 8:50 of the second period.
Kerfoot deflected a shot from the point from defenseman Adam Wilsby to halve the deficit with 4:54 remaining in the second period.
Wood converted from in front with several bodies in the blue paint and the net off its moorings to forge a 2-2 tie with 32 seconds left in the second period. The net was off its moorings, however, because Anderson cross-checked Steven Stamkos into the post.
The goal was allowed to stand, per Rule 63.7, because it met three criteria. “The goal post must have been displaced by the actions of a defending player, the attacking player must have an imminent scoring opportunity prior to the goal post being displaced, and it must be determined that the puck would have entered the net between the normal position of the goal posts.”
