MONTREAL — A third-period rally wasn’t enough to make up for a disastrous four-goal second period as the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Nashville Predators 4-2 at home on Tuesday.
“Just as professionals, you’ve got to be better than that,” said forward Brendan Gallagher. “It was extremely disappointing, obviously. We felt like we left our goaltender out to dry. You have a second period like that, it costs you the game.”
Filip Forsberg had back-to-back goals as Nashville (35-26-8), built a 4-0 lead in the second period. Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok also scored in the period. Juuse Saros made 32 saves for the win in the Predators’ net.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien called the team’s play in the second “catastrophic.”
Artturi Lehkonen and Lukas Vejdemo had goals in the third period as Montreal (31-31-9) lost its third straight game. The Canadiens were coming off two disappointing games in Florida, getting shut out 4-0 by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and losing 4-1 to the Panthers on Saturday.
Carey Price stopped 32 for the Habs. It was the league-leading 58th game of the season for Price.
“We came out in the third with more energy and more determination,” said Julien.
Johansen opened the scoring less than a minute into the second, rifling a wrist shot past Price for his 14th of the season. Just over two minutes later, it was Jarnkrok’s turn to pounce. With Price screened off the faceoff, he whipped a quick shot into the net.
Forsberg took a pass on the power play, skated just outside the face-off circle and put the puck over Price’s outstretched glove for his 20th of the year. That gave Nashville a 3-0 lead 8:18 into the second.
Forsberg struck again at the 16-minute mark, though this time luck played a critical role. A Roman Josi point shot hit a skate in front, bouncing directly onto the Swede’s stick and leaving Price completely out of position to make a save.
In a period when nothing went right for the Canadiens, even the Bell Centre’s lights got in on the action, with some above-ice flickering off and forcing a play stoppage during a rare moment of action in the Preds’ zone.
It was in that third period that the Canadiens almost managed to redeem themselves, putting 13 pucks on net while allowing just four shots against Price.
Lehkonen finally managed to get his team on the board less than three minutes into the third, shovelling a rebound off the boards past Saros.
Going into the game, Saros hadn’t allowed a goal since losing to Minnesota on March 3. Lehkonen’s goal brought an end to Saros’s streak, which included consecutive shutouts against Dallas.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said Johansen. “At one point it felt like the kid’s going to keep going and going. He’s really stepped up for us.”
Even with the loss, it was a memorable evening for Vejdemo. The rookie posted his first NHL point in his seventh game, working his way to the front of the net and one-timing a Dale Weise pass from behind the goal line in.
“It’s my first goal so it’s fun to score, but at the same time I’d rather take a win,” he said. “We’ve lost three in a row now, so that’s no fun.”
Shortly after the game the Canadiens announced that Vejdemo had been demoted to the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket.
With leading scorer Tomas Tatar out, the Canadiens juggled their top lines, lining Gallagher up with Max Domi and rookies Charles Hudon.
The Canadiens announced mid-game that Tatar would be out indefinitely with an upper body injury but Julien said he won’t need surgery.
“We thought we could get a timeline but it’s an injury that’s hard to determine,” he said. “I know it’s not a day-to-day thing. It could be a week and then he moves on. Even medically we don’t have more information than that.”
The Predators are locked into a tight battle for the West’s two wild-card spots. They entered the game tied with the Vancouver Canucks with 76 points. Minnesota and Winnipeg hold the wild cards with 77 and 78 points, respectively.
The Bell Centre hosted a pre-game ceremony memorializing Habs great Henri Richard, who passed away on Friday. The crowd gave a standing ovation to Richard’s family, which was in attendance, followed by a moment of silence.
Notes: Habs forwards Jonathan Drouin and Tomas Tatar and defenceman VIctor Mete sat out the injuries while defenceman Karl Alzner was a healthy scratch. … Nashville defenceman Dan Hamhuis sat out with an injury while Austin Watson, Yannick Weber and Colin Blackwell were healthy scratches.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
