Dobes stops 36, Canadiens edge Predators for 5th win in row

NASHVILLE -- Jakub Dobes made 36 saves for the Montreal Canadiens, who extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-1 victory against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.

Cole Caufield and Patrik Laine scored for the Canadiens (38-30-9), who were coming off a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

“We had tough traveling,” Dobes said. “Maybe the guys were a little bit tired. They were just more prepared, more fresh. That’s why they had a little bit of push, but we managed it and we won, so everyone is pretty happy.”

Montreal is five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Each team has five games remaining.

The Canadiens also moved six points ahead of the New York Rangers for the second wild card from the East. New York has a game in hand.

“Every game is the biggest one going forward,” Caufield said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a back to back with travel. You’ve got to find a way, and I thought we did that tonight. It wasn’t, obviously, pretty but you’ll take the two (points) whenever you can get them.”

Steven Stamkos scored for the Predators (27-42-8), who have lost six consecutive games. Juuse Saros made 15 saves.

“It’s just the story of the year I guess,” Stamkos said. “We can’t seem to score goals. The effort was there again; I applaud the guys for that. Certainly for 55 minutes of the game, we had the puck. A couple of lapses, a couple of turnovers that led to some transition for them, which in the pre-scout we went over. That’s where they feed, and we kind of gave them a couple.”

Stamkos gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 4:19 of the first period on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle. Filip Forsberg forced a turnover in the offensive zone and fed Stamkos for the shot.

Michael McCarron appeared to score again for the Predators at 12:33, but the goal was waved off after the Canadiens successfully challenged the play for goaltender interference.

“I’ve felt more comfortable and lost some [challenges],” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “I felt good about it, but I didn’t feel 100 percent. But I felt good about it.”

Caufield tied it 1-1 at 1:40 of the second period on a wrist shot from the left circle on the rush.

“You’ve just got to find ways to win right now,” Caufield said. “Whether our starts are good or bad, you’ve got to stay in it and play a full 60. I thought we did that tonight. I thought we bounced forward in the second. Obviously took the lead, and that’s a pretty tough one to hold.”

Laine put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 5:47 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle off a pass from Lane Hutson.

“We’ve got a pretty special group in here,” Hutson said. “We knew it was going to be a hard one before the game even started, but we just wanted to find a way. We got a couple good bounces, and luckily, we found a way.”

NOTES: Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (five goals, five assists). … Laine reached the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in his NHL career. … Predators defenseman Spencer Stastney returned to the lineup after missing one game because of an upper-body injury. He finished with two shots on goal in 13:19 of ice time. … Nashville forward Matthew Wood, the No. 15 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut after signing an entry-level contract on March 29 following the completion of his season at the University of Minnesota. Wood finished with one shot on goal in 13:14 of ice time. “Obviously it was a great opportunity, and I’m really fortunate that I was able to experience that,” Wood said. “I think after the first period I was a lot less nervous. It was fun.”