Puck drop 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
This is a non-conference early-season matchup between two clubs sitting at identical .500 records. Montreal hosts after a home-opener loss; Nashville continues a road trip after an overtime defeat.
Injury Reports
Nashville Predators
Justus Annunen (G): Out (undisclosed), placed on IR; Matt Murray recalled as backup. Expected out at least through early next week.
Montreal Canadiens
Ivan Demidov (RW): Out 2-4 weeks (lower body).
Kaiden Guhle (D): Out (groin), getting closer but not yet ready.
Oliver Kapanen (C): Day-to-day/out (lower body) for recent games.
Bryce Pickford (D) and Lucas Condotta (F): IR-NR (undisclosed).
Samuel Montembeault (G) dealt with a practice issue in some reports (day-to-day).
Projected Goalies
Nashville: Juuse Saros (projected, high start probability ~80%).
Montreal: Jakub Dobes (projected ~77%).
Current Rosters / Key Players
Nashville Predators:
Forwards – Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Nils Hoglander, Mavrik Bourque, Alexander Kerfoot, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Matthew Wood, Adam Edstrom, Reid Schaefer, Vitali Pinchuk (recalled).
Defense – Roman Josi (C), Brady Skjei, Nicolas Hague, Nick Perbix, Ilya Lyubushkin, Adam Wilsby, William Trudeau, Jack Ahcan.
Goalies – Juuse Saros, Matt Murray (Annunen on IR).
Montreal Canadiens:
Forwards – Nick Suzuki (C), Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Chris Kreider, Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, Jake Evans, Alexandre Texier, Florian Xhekaj (in for Demidov).
Defense – Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, Adam Engstrom.
Goalies – Jakub Dobes, Samuel Montembeault.
Nashville relies on veteran scoring (Forsberg, Stamkos, O’Reilly, Marchessault) and Josi’s all-around play. Montreal’s young core (Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Hutson) remains dangerous even without Demidov.
Recent Team Forms
Nashville (1-1-1): Mixed results on a road swing. Recent: L 1-3 vs. MIN (Oct. 1), W 2-1 vs. DAL (Oct. 3), L 4-5 OT at TOR (Oct. 6). Stamkos and Hoglander each scored twice in the OT loss; Saros has been solid (.933 SV%). Scoring has been modest early.
Montreal (1-1-1): Opened with a road win, then OT loss, then home-opener defeat. Recent: W 3-2 at TOR, L 5-6 OT at PIT, L 4-6 vs. CAR (Oct. 6). High-event games; Dobes has faced heavy shot volume. Missing Demidov hurts secondary scoring.
Both teams are 1-1-1 with one day of rest; no major schedule edge.
Series History / Head-to-Head
All-time roughly even (Predators ~17-18 overall in some tallies). Recent meetings lean Montreal:
March 28, 2026: Montreal 4, Nashville 1 (at NSH).
Oct. 16, 2025: Montreal 3, Nashville 2 (OT at MTL).
April 6, 2025: Montreal 2, Nashville 1 (at NSH).
Dec. 5, 2024: Montreal 3, Nashville 0 (at MTL).
Montreal has won several consecutive recent games, often low-to-moderate scoring.
Key Player vs. Player Matchups
Nick Suzuki / Cole Caufield / Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal top line) vs. Roman Josi / Brady Skjei and Nashville top forwards (Forsberg-Stamkos-O’Reilly area): Montreal’s skill vs. Nashville’s veteran two-way play and Josi’s minutes.
Lane Hutson / Noah Dobson defense vs. Steven Stamkos / Filip Forsberg: Young Montreal blueline mobility against Nashville’s shooting threats.
Juuse Saros vs. Jakub Dobes: Experience and early form edge to Saros; Dobes has been under fire in high-event games.
Special teams: Nashville’s early PP success (noted ~28% in some early data) vs. Montreal’s PK; both clubs still finding rhythm.
Line projections (Montreal last change): Expect Montreal’s top unit to match against Nashville’s top group, with secondary matchups involving Marchessault/Bourque lines and Montreal’s middle six (Danault, Newhook, Dach).
Betting Trends
Montreal has dominated recent H2H; Nashville is winless in several straight against the Habs. Early-season totals have varied, but both teams have been involved in higher-scoring games recently.
Game Odds
Nashville Predators 6
Montreal Canadiens – 180
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Wednesday, October 7, 2026
