The Montreal Canadiens had a date with the Nashville Predators on Sunday night and hoped to keep their winning streak going. Josh Anderson was back in the lineup after his wife delivered the couple’s first child on Saturday. However, David Savard and Emil Heineman were out, dealing with minor ailments, and their status will be reevaluated daily. This meant that Oliver Kapanen stayed in the lineup, and Arber Xhekaj was back after sitting out the last four games.
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After the Canadiens played a subpar first frame, as is too often the case this season, they came out strong in the middle frame. Cole Caufield scored on Montreal’s fifth shot of the game, the snipper’s 36th goal of the season and his 66th point.
Last season, the right winger collected 65 points in 82 games, making this season his most productive in both goals and points. He’s seven assists short of his career-high of 37, but no one can hold that against him. He’s a goal scorer at heart, and the Canadiens have got themselves a brand-new assist-dishing machine this season.
On Caufield’s goal, captain Nick Suzuki got his 57th assist of the season, his 84th point, which ties Alex Kovalev’s best season in Montreal in 2007-2008. He can now set his sights on Bobby Smith’s 86 points in 1985-86, Keith Acton and Brian Bellows’s 88 points in 1981-82 and 1992-93.
A Great Outing For Dobes
Although Sunday night’s game was the second in as many nights, seeing Martin St-Louis give Jakub Dobes the nod was almost surprising. After a fantastic start to his NHL career, the young netminder had struggled in his last eight outings.
After Nashville scored the first goal less than five minutes in, the young netminder looked frazzled, and the sky might have fallen on his head had the Predators’ second goal counted. The Canadiens’ coaching staff decided to challenge for goalie interference, and they were successful. From then on, the youngster looked more solid by the minute.
Dobes is clearly being pulled away from where he needs to be, but these calls are a toss up. pic.twitter.com/qbASYMtm38
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 6, 2025
He made a big save on Michael McCarron in the middle frame, which gave him the boost he needed. In the end, he faced 37 shots and finished the game with a .973 save percentage. This is a huge win for the young man and for the team’s confidence in its backup. Without Dobes’s performance, the Habs would have lost that game; they only tested Juuse Saros 17 times.
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Patrik Laine may not be a complete player, but he is the kind of player contenders have. He is the money shot guy, the one goaltenders know will shoot, but still can’t stop him, and he is the perfect complement to Lane Hutson. ...