Habs, Predators search for space amid playoff pushes

The Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators hope to create a bit more wiggle room in their tightly contested playoff races when they square off Saturday in Nashville.

Montreal (40-21-10, 90 points), which currently sits two points ahead of the Boston Bruins for the third spot in the Atlantic Division, soars into the matchup with plenty of momentum after sweeping a three-game homestand. The Habs capped it off with a crucial 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Zachary Bolduc was the unlikely hero for the Canadiens, as his third-period, game-winning goal squashed his 31-game goal drought.

"It was a little bit of a relief and I'm super happy that we got out of this game with a win," Bolduc told reporters.

Bolduc also had an assist on another goal from an unlikely candidate, as Jayden Struble scored his first since Nov. 26, 2024.

Depth scoring couldn't have come at a better time as Montreal's top line was held scoreless. Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki saw their seven-game point streaks come to an end, while Cole Caufield lost a six-game point streak of his own.

"We can't rely on our top guys all the time," Jake Evans said. "A lot of us, we don't want to force anything and play a simpler game than some of our more skilled guys. But we need to help out a lot and we can't rely on one line to produce."

Saturday's clash will begin a new challenge for this young Canadiens squad as they launch into a critical five-game road swing.

"Huge road trip, just go play our hockey and try to win the most games we can," Struble said following Thursday's game. "Honestly, we might play better on the road. You're all together, you're going out to dinners together, it's kind of a lot of team bonding. You're at the hotels together and stuff. So I think it helps bring the group closer come game time."

As for Nashville, it will be finishing up a three-game homestand on Saturday before commencing an all-important six-game road trip of its own.

The Predators (34-29-9, 77 points) saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday when they fell 4-2 to the New Jersey Devils.

Nashville scored two second-period goals to knot the game up, but Nico Hischier notched his second goal of the game on a power play that Predators star Steven Stamkos wasn't too sure should have been given in the first place.

"In my opinion, probably no need to call that particular play," Stamkos said of the slashing penalty called on Matthew Wood with 6:14 remaining in the third. "But I mean, it is what it is, and it just sucks with the magnitude of the games and points for us at this time of the year."

Stamkos buried his 36th goal of the season, while Reid Schaefer also found the back of the net for Nashville in the losing effort.

"We just move on and take what's good," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "There's a big belief in that room, we're right there. Some circumstances we can't control."

After Thursday's defeat, the Predators head into Saturday clinging to a one-point advantage over the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

--Field Level Media