O'Reilly's late power-play goal seals Predators comeback over Canadiens

Ryan O'Reilly scored on the power play with 3:16 remaining as the Nashville Predators recovered from two goals down to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Thursday. The late winner broke a 2-2 tie, and Adam Edstrom added two empty-net goals to complete the comeback at Bell Centre.

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According to the Associated Press, O'Reilly redirected Roman Josi's shot from the point after Mike Matheson was penalised for tripping Steven Stamkos in the neutral zone. The goal came 59 seconds after that penalty, giving Nashville its first lead after Montreal had gone ahead through Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook.

Alexander Kerfoot and Matthew Wood scored Nashville's other goals, while Stamkos finished with two assists. Juuse Saros stopped 32 shots as Montreal held a 34-18 advantage in shots on goal. At the other end, Jacob Fowler made 15 saves in his first start of the season for the Canadiens.

The defeat extended Montreal's winless run to three games and ended its five-game winning streak against Nashville, the AP reported. That sequence of victories over the Predators dated back to March 5, 2024. Montreal's two-goal advantage ultimately gave way to five consecutive Nashville goals, with Edstrom's late double widening the final margin.

Montreal had also seen an earlier goal ruled out. Sportsnet's Eric Engels reported that Chris Kreider beat Saros early in the game, only for Nashville's offside challenge to erase it. Kreider played alongside Newhook and Josh Anderson for the first time, with the trio producing Montreal's five-on-five goal. Anderson later told reporters he was still thinking about a breakaway opportunity that Saros stopped before the Predators took the lead.

Coach Martin St. Louis had made changes elsewhere in the Canadiens' lineup as well. Engels reported that Noah Dobson was paired with Lane Hutson rather than Matheson and assisted on Newhook's second-period goal. Adam Engstrom replaced Jayden Struble alongside Arber Xhekaj. Fowler also came into the starting lineup for Jakub Dobes, but Montreal's adjustments did not prevent Nashville from taking the two points.