Forsberg’s two-goal performance leads Predators past Canadiens 4-2

MONTREAL — Filip Forsberg scored twice as the Nashville Predators fended off a late rally to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Tuesday.

Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok also scored in the second period as Nashville (35-26-8), built a 4-0 lead.

Artturi Lehkonen and Lukas Vejdemo had goals in the third period as Montreal (31-31-9) lost its third straight game.

Juuse Saros made 32 saves for the win in the Predators’ net and Carey Price stopped 32 for the Canadiens.

It was the league-leading 58th game of the season for Price.

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.

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.

With Joel Armia in the penalty box on a tripping call, Forsberg took a pass, 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.

On the other end, the Canadiens had little response to the offensive onslaught. One of their few chances came when winger Lehkonen broke in on a two-on-one with rookie Nick Suzuki, but shot the puck harmlessly into Saros’ glove.

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.

Lehkonen finally managed to get his team on the board early in the third, shovelling a rebound off the boards past Saros.

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.

The Canadiens kept the pressure on but Saros came up big on several in-close chances with Price pulled for the extra attacker.

Despite the disastrous second period, Price kept his team in the game in the first, stopping all 13 shots he faced.

Early penalties to Ben Chiarot and Xavier Ouellet kept Saros’s end of the ice quiet — other than two shots with Ouellet off the ice, Montreal wouldn’t get another puck on net until the 12-minute mark. In total, Saros was challenged just seven times in the first though a late Canadiens’ surge resulted in several spectacular saves.

It was Montreal’s third loss in a row as 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.

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.

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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2020.

Adam Kovac, The Canadian Press