NHL Game Preview: Nashville Predators vs. Montreal Canadiens with Line Combinations 12/5/2024

The Nashville Predators will take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The Predators are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night while the Canadiens are coming off a 2-1 overime win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

Nashville Predators (7-13-6, 20 Points) vs. Montreal Canadiens (9-13-3, 21 Points)

When: Thursday, December 5
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Bell Centre (Montreal, QC)
TV: FanDuel Sports Network South

Scoring Leaders

Nashville Predators

Points: Roman Josi – 23
Goals: Filip Forsberg – 9
Assists: Roman Josi – 16

Montreal Canadiens

Points: Nick Suzuki – 26
Goals: Cole Caufield – 16
Assists: Nick Suzuki – 16

Team Stats

Nashville Predators

Power-Play: 20.3
Penalty Kill: 88.2
GF: 2.31
GA: 3.15
Faceoff: 53.1

Montreal Canadiens

Power-Play: 21.5
Penalty Kill: 82.6
GF: 2.80
GA: 3.72
Faceoff: 48.3

Expected Line Combinations

Nashville Predators

Filip Forsberg – Ryan O’Reilly – Gustav Nyquist
Steven Stamkos – Fedor Svechkov – Juuso Parssinen
Mark Jankowski – Tommy Novak – Jonathan Marchessault
Cole Smith – Colton Sissons – Zachary L’Heureux
Roman Josi – Jeremy Lauzon
Brady Skjei – Alexandre Carrier
Marc Del Gaizo – Luke Schenn

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Montreal Canadiens

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Newhook
Patrik Laine – Kirby Dach – Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans – Joel Armia
Kaiden Guhle – Mike Matheson
Lane Hutson – Jayden Struble
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard

BetweenThe Pipes

Nashville: Justus Annunen (6-4-0, 3.69 GAA)

Annunen will make his Nashville debut after Juuse Saros got the start last night. This season he is 6-4-0 with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage. He is 0-1-0 against Montreal in his career giving up two goals on 27 shots.

Montreal: Sam Montembeault (7-10-2, 2.99 GAA) / Cayden Primeau (2-3-1, 4.45 GAA)

Montembeault this season is 7-10-2 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .901 save percentage, he took the win on Tuesday stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced. He is 3-1-0 with a 3.43 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage in his career against Nashville. He didn’t face them last season.

Primeau this season is 2-3-1 with a 4.45 goals against average and a .844 save percentage, he last played on Sunday taking the loss giving up five goals on 29 shots. He has never faced the Predators in his career.

For More NHL Stats, Visit stats.insidetherink.com!

Players To Watch

Nashville: Filip Forsberg (9-8-17)

Forsberg this season has 17 points on nine goals and eight assists. In his career against Montreal, he has 15 points in 16 games on eight goals and seven assists. Last season in two games against the Canadiens he had three points on a goal and two assists.

Montreal: Jake Evans (4-8-12)

Evans this season has 12 points on four goals and eight assists. In his career against Nashville, he has five points in seven games on two goals and three assists. Last season in two games against the Predators he had three points on a goal and two assists.

Head to Head

The Predators last season went 1-0-1 against Montreal, both teams scored five goals each between those two games. In their last ten meetings, the Predators are 7-2-1 and have outscored them 35-27 in that ten-game span.

Next Up

Nashville: @ Ottawa Senators – Saturday
Montreal: vs. Washington Capitals – Saturday

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2. ITR 33: The Gr8 One 44:20
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5. ITR 30: Down The Stretch 59:42