HABS FALL SHORT IN SHOOTOUT
Late goal salvages point in 3-2 defeat
Joe Morrow scored in the final minute to force overtime, but Kyle Turris scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win over the Canadiens Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Canadiens’ defence turned in another strong performance without Shea Weber and Antti Niemi was solid in his first start as a Canadien, but the Montreal offence continued to sputter. After Viktor Arvidsson fired wide on an attempt for an empty-net goal, Morrow scored at 19:04 on a shot that hit Ryan Johansen’s leg on its way to the goal. It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Canadiens, who have a 1-4-2 record in their last seven games. Deadly on the power play: Filip Forsberg snapped a 1-1 tie when he scored his second power-play goal at 3:16 of the third period on a feed from Craig Smith. Forsberg has scored 11 goals this season and is tied for the NHL lead with seven power-play goals.
Benn opens scoring: Defenceman Jordie Benn gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead when he scored at 12:47 of the first period. Charles Hudon set up Benn as he moved up the middle and beat Pekka Rinne with a wrist shot to the blocker side. It was Benn’s second goal of the season.
P.K. leads the rush: Forsberg scored his first power-play goal of the night with 1.8 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the game. P.K. Subban threaded his way deep into the Montreal zone and found Johansen to the left of Niemi. Johansen passed across to Forsberg, who buried the puck.
Specialty items: The Canadiens had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:05 early in the first period, but failed to score. They had four shots on goal during the two-man advantage, but also had five shots blocked. The Canadiens finished 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Predators went 2-for-4.
Tempers flare: There was a pier six brawl in the third period after Subban pushed Nicolas Deslauriers into Rinne. Just as order was being restored, there was a second round of scrapping after Rinne pushed Brendan Gallagher to the ice. The main event had former teammates Gallagher and Subban going at it, but the activity never escalated above the roughing level.
Jerabek makes debut: Jakub Jerabek, a 26-year-old Czech who played in the KHL last season, made his NHL debut. Jerabek, who was called up from the Laval Rocket Wednesday morning, replaced teenager Victor Mete on the third pair alongside Brandon Davidson.
Hockey Fights Cancer: The fans at Bridgestone Arena joined fans across North America to mark the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. There were 15 games on the schedule Wednesday and fans in each arena were encouraged to create a light show with the flashlights on their cellphones as they observed a moment of silence for cancer victims.
Coming home: The Canadiens are at the Bell Centre Saturday to meet the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m., Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio).