Canadiens honour P.K. Subban, then ride Caufield over Predators

On Thursday, the Bell Centre was full of energy as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 4-3. This game took place on the night that former star P.K. Subban was welcomed to the city with an emotional tribute just before puck drop.

Cole Caufield scored two goals, Jonathan Drouin had three assists, and Samuel Montembeault made 39 stops. hold on for the win.

Juuso Parsinen, a rookie Predators player, scored a goal as well as an assist. Yaroslav Askarov, a rookie goaltender in the NHL, showed promising flashes by recording 31 saves in his debut NHL game.

Subban is like he’s never been home

In spite of a season filled with forgettable nights and a disappointing season, Thursday was a memorable night for the sold-out Bell Centre crowd. Subban returned for a pregame tribute. Subban, who was a 13-year NHL veteran, received a long-standing ovation from Canadiens fans and players from both of the franchises with which he played the majority.

He said, “To all the fans, and to all of you that are present today, I’ve always felt we had an understanding.” “When you don the Montreal Canadiens jersey, and when you wear it with the CH, you must play with the same passion as the fans every night at this building.

“I love Montreal, I love coming back, and it truly is an honor to have this opportunity,” he said. “I never would’ve imagined that I would be honored by the most respected franchise in professional sports.”

Subban, always looking for the less fortunate in his shining times, stepped out onto ice accompanied Mila, a young Canadiens Fan currently undergoing treatment at Montreal Children’s Hospital. He has been associated with the hospital since his extraordinary $10-million pledge to it in 2015.

Subban was accompanied by Carey Price, a long-time teammate and Canadiens goaltender. They engaged in their famous triple-low five celebration, which ignited the crowd before puck drop.

Caufield once more makes a difference

Caufield showed why he is one of the NHL’s most promising sharpshooters once again on Thursday with a pair of goals — including the game-winner — to bury the Predators for their second loss in as many nights.

Caufield surpassed the 25-goal mark in his NHL debut with the two goals. Both goals were scored from the same spot on ice. They were buried by accurate feeds from Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, and his trademark one-timer from the power play.

Under Martin St. Louis as head coach, the 22-year old has scored 49 goals in his 80 games. This is a remarkable rate for a third-year forward.

Askarov plays in his first NHL game

In his first NHL appearance, Askarov played a great game. The 20-year-old Russian netminder — a familiar name for some Canadian hockey fans who watched him take on Canada on numerous occasions at the World Juniors — made 31 saves on the night, including a number of desperation stops to keep the game within reach.

Despite the strong performance, Preds’ 11th overall pick in 2020 NHL Draft had fans holding their breath. His adventurous play with the puck made it difficult for them to believe. Askarov was often seen leaving his crease and making dangerous plays far from his net throughout the contest. One such play was a costly turnover. Drouin intercepted a failed clearing attempt and made it into Dach’s nifty goal to make it 2-1.

Montreal put Askarov through a baptism by fire during the first period. Askarov scored two goals and fired 19 shots at goal.

“Officially, it wasn’t easy with so much shots, but I felt better in net,” Askarov stated to reporters after the match. Yakov Trenin translated for him.

Although Askarov has a bright future, he will need to be more careful with his puck if he hopes to secure a spot in NHL.

Evans, the fourth-line show out

Montreal’s fourth line of Jake Evans and Evgenii Dadonov was a success. They created opportunity after chance and sneaked past Nashville’s defense to score breakaways.

Evans was the third star of that game. His goal was to tie the game at 1 in the first frame. The trio had six shots together on the night.

Both Evans and Dadonov had breakaway opportunities, spurred by Askarov and some help from the goalpost. This kept the Predators from winning the contest.

Evans and Armia played important roles in a Habs penalty kill that saw the Habs successfully negating three man advantages. Evans was second in ice time with Canadiens forwards, at 18:23.

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