National Hockey League
Nashville 4, Montreal 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 4, 2021
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Furman South, Kelly Sutherland
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Mitch Hunt
Attendance: 17159

Filip Forsberg scored with 12 seconds left in overtime as the Nashville Predators topped the visiting Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night.

Forsberg had his stick knocked out of his hands by defenseman Ben Chiarot, and then the play -- led by Mikael Granlund -- went behind the Montreal net.

After retrieving his stick and being the only player on the left side of the ice, Forsberg took a cross-ice feed from Granlund and roofed his 11th goal for the win.

Luke Kunin crafted a Gordie Howe hat trick -- a goal, an assist and a 5-minute fighting major -- and Tanner Jeannot broke a 10-game goalless streak. Eeli Tolvanen also tallied for the Predators.

Mattias Ekholm posted two assists, and Colton Sissons skated in his 400th NHL game. Juuse Saros made 20 saves.

Montreal's Nick Suzuki scored on the power play, and Christian Dvorak and Brett Kulak netted markers. Cole Caufield and Tyler Toffoli had two assists for the Canadiens.

In his 200th NHL game, Chris Wideman assisted on Suzuki's goal. Goalie Jake Allen stopped 40 shots in the loss.

Kunin possessed a puck through the neutral zone and dropped a pass back to Ekholm just over the blue line and in the offensive end.

The defenseman's deep slapper struck the stick of Tolvanen -- standing atop the left circle and well away from Allen -- and fluttered past the netminder for his second marker and opening the scoring in the first period.

Ekholm and Kunin drew assists on the goal at 4:52, but a key in the first was Montreal committing three penalties that limited the Canadiens' ability to spend much time on offense.

In the second, Suzuki cashed in on the power play for his fifth marker by wiring a shot high over Saros at 4:48 to knot the game at 1-1.

Dvorak outraced a Predator to wave off icing and eventually got in front to score on a rebound at 10:01 of the second.

Nashville challenged for goaltender interference against Dvorak, but the goal was upheld -- necessitating a delay of game penalty.

For the second time, Nashville scored on a deflection off a shot by Ekholm -- getting the tip from Jeannot at 17:24 to tie it.

In the third, a trailing Kulak fired home his first marker at 3:10 after receiving a pass from Caufield for the 3-2 lead.

After being sent off for fighting Kulak, Kunin returned and shoved in a loose puck to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:48 left in regulation and notch the Gordie Howe hatty on his 24th birthday.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Nashville
Cole Caufield 2 Points Luke Kunin 2
Christian Dvorak 1 Goals Luke Kunin 1
Cole Caufield 2 Assists Mattias Ekholm 2
Nick Suzuki 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jake Allen .909 Save Percentage Juuse Saros .870
Jake Allen 40 Saves Juuse Saros 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 23 3 1-4 5-5 20 31
Nashville 44 4 0-5 3-4 18 34
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Predators have a W/L % of .385 after a win and .727 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .300 after a loss.