Jacob Fowler stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced to help the Montreal Canadiens kick off their critical five-game road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Cole Caufield continued his chase for the Maurice Rocket Richard trophy as he found the back of the net for his 45th goal of the season for the Canadiens (41-21-10, 92 points). Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook all picked up a goal and an assist, while Nick Suzuki also finished with a pair of assists as Montreal secured its fourth consecutive win.
Demidov struck first for the Canadiens as he soared into the zone and fired a wrist shot off the far post and in with 8:26 remaining in the first.
The Predators (34-30-9, 77 points) have a precarious hold on a wild card slot in the Western Conference and had a chance to find an equalizer after Zachary L’Heureux took a behind-the-back pass from Roman Josi, but he jammed his backhand shot wide of the cage with just over five minutes remaining in the first.
Montreal doubled up its advantage just under four minutes into the second period as Newhook found Kapanen out front and he tapped it into the empty cage for his 22nd goal of the season.
Erik Haula eyed Nashville’s first goal while on the man advantage, but he found the right post with his wrist shot close to five minutes into the second period.
Caufield was looking to make it a three-goal game as he toe dragged around his defender, but found the iron with 8:43 remaining in the second.
The Canadiens’ sniper didn’t waste much time to get his revenge as three minutes later he stepped into the middle and slid his shot past Saros to make it 3-0 for the Canadiens.
After failing to score on his one-timed chance, Demidov spotted an open Newhook, who made no mistake with 3:37 remaining in the middle frame to make it 4-0 for the Canadiens.
L’Heureux ended Fowler’s shutout bid late in the third with a lucky goal as the puck bounced off the stanchion and on his stick with an empty net in front of him.
