Colton Sissons scored on the power play and the Nashville Predators led 1-0 against the Montreal Canadiens after one period of play, Sunday evening at the Bell Centre.
Sissons surprised goalkeeper Jake Allen by deflecting a long shot from Filip Forsberg at 11:41. Allen had his vision blurred on the sequence and almost didn’t react to the shot.
The first period was punctuated by six minor penalties called by the referees.
The Canadian finished the engagement 0-for-3. In particular, he was unable to take advantage of 42 seconds of four-on-three play.
Allen stopped 11 shots during the first period. At the other end of the ice, Juuse Saros made nine saves.
Saros got lucky when a long throw from Kaiden Guhle hit the crossbar with about 10 seconds left in the first period.
Defender David Savard returned to play after a 22-game absence due to a broken left hand. To make room for him in his team, the Canadian gave Mattias Norlinder to the Laval Rocket, while Gustav Lindström was left out.
Forward Michael Pezzetta was also inserted into the Habs lineup in relief of Tanner Pearson, who suffered an upper-body injury Saturday in his team’s 3-2 shootout victory against the Sabres.
The Canadian will play their next game on Wednesday, when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre.