On October 9, 2026, Ryan O’Reilly scored the go-ahead goal with 3:16 remaining as the Nashville Predators rallied from 2-0 down to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 — a comeback the shot clock insists should not have happened.
Nashville was outshot 34-18, and for long stretches Montreal controlled the terms: Nick Suzuki and Alex Newhook built the 2-0 lead, and the Canadiens’ winless streak, now three games, will sting precisely because this one was theirs to close. Instead the game became a lesson in finishing rather than control. Alexander Kerfoot and Matthew Wood began the recovery, O’Reilly — the veteran centre whose late-game shifts are a coach’s comfort blanket — supplied the winner, and Adam Edström added two empty-net goals once Montreal’s gamble at the end stopped being a choice.
Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville, and his night is the connective tissue of the comeback: a goaltender keeping a 2-0 deficit at two while his team finds its legs is the difference between a rally and a rout. Montreal will look at the same game and see the inverse — territorial dominance converted into nothing once the game tightened, the classic failure mode of a young team learning to protect leads.
Three games, one pattern for Montreal
Winless in three, the Canadiens’ problem is becoming definitional: they can build games, they cannot yet finish them. Nashville, meanwhile, takes the kind of road win that toughens a room — stolen on shot share, earned in the last four minutes. GlobeNews9’s Sports & Entertainment Desk will watch whether Montreal’s skid forces lineup changes and whether the Predators’ finishing survives contact with a heavier opponent.
Comebacks built on finishing rather than volume are not a repeatable diet, and Nashville’s coaches will say so in the video session. But they bank two points and a template for the nights when the territorial game deserts them: hold the deficit where the goaltender keeps it, and let the veterans decide the last five minutes.
Related reading: Flames Rookie Castagna Turns NHL Debut Into First Point Night · Chris Wood Wants to Lead New Zealand Into World Cup History · Islanders Lose Romanov for Rest of Regular Season With Torn ACL
