All Peter Laviolette wanted was a response. On Saturday night in Montreal, he got one.
Roughly 24 hours after the Predators produced what their head coach called an “awful” effort in a 4-3 overtime loss to Detroit, Nashville went into the Bell Centre on the second half of a back-to-back and defeated the Canadiens by a 4-1 final.
The victory gives the Preds points in four consecutive games – and three out of possible four in the last two nights. But it’s Saturday’s victory that makes the past 48 hours look a lot better. Right from the opening moments of the contest, the visitors were much better than they were a day before, and against an opponent with a better record as well.
“We were strong from start to finish,” Laviolette said. “We were competitive on pucks and detailed to our game. A lot of credit really goes to the players, just for making sure we’re ready to play.”
“This is one of our best road games of the year, for sure,” Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We played a simple game, got the first goal, got the second one, and even when they got one back, we responded right away. That was just a really solid effort from everyone.”
Nashville discussed having a much-improved start on Saturday, and midway through the first period, Craig Smith pounced on a loose rebound from a P.K. Subban blast to give the Preds a 1-0 lead. Nine minutes later, and with less than a minute to play in the opening frame, Ekholm blasted a shot past Carey Price for a 2-0 lead after one period.
In the second, it former Preds Captain Shea Weber who got Montreal on the board when he floated a point shot past Juuse Saros. The response from the Predators was much different than a night before, however, when they also saw their 2-0 lead cut in half. This time, Smith put Nashville back ahead by two by scoring just 18 seconds after Weber.
In the third, the Preds continued to keep the Habs to the outside, and Juuse Saros was there when they needed him to make key stops. Viktor Arvidsson threw one into an empty net to ice it late, the perfect ending to exactly the kind of game the Predators needed.
“It feels like every time we get challenged by a coach or ourselves, or we feel like we don’t play as good as we can, the next game is usually a strong one,” Ekholm said. “Tonight was really strong for us, but it’s just one game. We have a long road trip to go, so it’s nice to get this one, but we have to refocus.”
Anything You Can Do…
When Shea Weber’s shot found a way through a host of people and rekindled life into the Bell Centre, it would’ve been easy for those on the Nashville bench to think: “here we go again.”
After all, with the exception of a win in Washington on New Year’s Eve, life on the road hasn’t been great for the Predators over the past two months.
However, the man who has been a part of this club just about as long as anyone else on the roster wasn’t about to let it happen again on Saturday night.
It took Craig Smith only 18 seconds to respond to Weber’s strike, as he got untangled from Carey Price to start, whipped around the net – and beat the goaltender there – before banking the puck in off the blocker and over the line. Montreal challenged the play for goaltender interference, but unlike on Friday in Detroit, the call went the visitors’ way.
It was by far the biggest goal of the four Smith has scored over his past three outings, and from a team standpoint, well, it was monumental.
“In terms of responses, that was probably the one that meant the most so far this year,” Laviolette said of the goal. “We’re coming off a tough game and you have a two-goal lead, they close it, and to immediately go down and score a goal, that’s really important. Smith had a super strong game, too. He was physical, he was fast, competitive on pucks and chipped in the offense as well.”
Smith now has points in each of his last five outings (4g-2a) and continues to produce for the Preds as they get back on track – and on Saturday night, he helped lead the way.
“It’s the process in which we enter a game, the way we play, the passion we lay on the ice,” Smith said. “The process is more important, but we have to take ownership in how we start games… We want to have a great start and play with speed.”
Notes:
P.K. Subban had two assists on the night, the second of which was his 300th in the NHL.
Preds forward Colton Sissons returned to the lineup on Saturday night after missing the previous six games with a lower-body injury. He was a +2 in 14:20 of time on ice.
Nashville winger Miikka Salomaki did not play on Saturday and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Salomaki left Friday’s game in Detroit and did not return.
Nashville’s six-game adventure continues on Monday night in Toronto when they’ll face the Maple Leafs. Then, it’s onto Chicago, Columbus and finally Carolina to finish things up next weekend.
