NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook each scored a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Saturday night.
The Canadiens won their fourth straight in a streak that has them third in the Atlantic Division just ahead of Boston. They swept the season series with Nashville for a second straight season.
Cole Caufield also had a goal as Montreal scored three in the second. He now has
45 goals this season and is the first to reach that mark for Montreal since Stephane Richer had 51 in 1989-90.
Goalie Jacob Fowler, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft held in Nashville, made 23 saves for the win.
Nick Suzuki had two assists for a team-leading 64 this season. Lane Hutson also had an assist and now is the third defenseman in NHL history with multiple 60-assist seasons before turning 23, joining Paul Coffey (three) and Bobby Orr (two).
Nashville lost its second straight after a five-game winning streak pushed the Predators into the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Zachary L'Heureux scored with 3:34 left for Nashville.
The Canadiens outshot Nashville 9-2 in the first period. Demidov put them up 1-0 with a wrister just after skating into the right circle beating goalie Juuse Saros (28 saves) stick-side at 11:34 for his 16th of the season.
Montreal took control 3:12 into the second starting with Kapanen scoring his 22nd from in front of the crease off a pass from Newhook.
The Predators had a pair of power plays in the second against a penalty killing unit ranked 27th in the NHL but couldn’t beat Fowler.
Then Caufield scored on a wrister at 14:45, and Newhook capped the period with a wrister from the left circle at 16:23.
Montreal: Plays at Carolina on Sunday.
The Predators start a six-game road swing Sunday at Tampa Bay.
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