In the brief, electric span of eleven seconds, Filip Forsberg resolved a night of reversals and resilience, lifting Nashville past Montreal 4-3 in overtime. The game traced the familiar human arc of setback and recovery — leads exchanged, challenges mounted, birthdays celebrated in unlikely ways — before a single pass and a sliding puck brought it all to a close. For Nashville, it was a steadying moment in a young season; for Montreal, another weight added to a difficult stretch.
Forsberg's OT heroics lift Predators past Canadiens 4-3
Forsberg finished it with 11.1 seconds remaining in overtime
Mark
What made this game worth watching? It sounds like a typical back-and-forth.
Mimi
The overtime finish was dramatic—11.1 seconds left—but what struck me was how many different players had to show up for Nashville to get there. Tolvanen broke a 22-game scoring drought. Kunin had a Gordie Howe hat trick on his birthday. Ekholm got his first multi-point game of the season.
Luke
But Montreal had 40 shots and Allen made 40 saves. That's a goaltender keeping his team in a game they probably should have won. The Canadiens are losing five of six, but they were competitive here.
Mimi
Absolutely. Suzuki's goal was his first in ten games, and Dvorak's goal survived a goaltender interference challenge. Montreal was fighting.
Mark
So why did Nashville win?
Mimi
Forsberg and Granlund in overtime. Sometimes it's that simple. One pass, one shot, 11 seconds.
Luke
And the fact that Montreal couldn't close it out in regulation. They had the lead twice and couldn't hold it.
Mark
What does this mean for either team going forward?
Mimi
Nashville's 2-1 in their last three, so there's momentum building. Montreal's in a real skid—five losses in six games is a pattern, not a fluke.
Luke
Though I'd note: we don't know why Montreal is struggling. We know the results, but the reporting doesn't tell us what's broken.
Mark
Fair point. But the game itself—that's clear.
Mimi
Crystal clear. Forsberg won it with 11.1 seconds left.
O Pulso
- The game swung back and forth five times on the scoreboard, neither team able to hold an advantage for long as momentum shifted with almost every period.
- A disputed goaltender interference call that survived video review kept Montreal's lead intact and threatened to define the night's outcome.
- Luke Kunin turned his 24th birthday into a Gordie Howe hat trick — goal, assist, and a fight — before tying the game late in the third to force overtime.
- Eleven seconds into the extra frame, Granlund's cross-ice feed found Forsberg in stride, and the game ended as suddenly as it had begun to feel inevitable.
- Nashville steadies at two wins in three games and heads into a four-game road trip, while Montreal absorbs a fifth loss in six and braces for Tampa Bay.
In the brief, electric span of eleven seconds, Filip Forsberg resolved a night of reversals and resilience, lifting Nashville past Montreal 4-3 in overtime. The game traced the familiar human arc of setback and recovery — leads exchanged, challenges mounted, birthdays celebrated in unlikely ways — before a single pass and a sliding puck brought it all to a close. For Nashville, it was a steadying moment in a young season; for Montreal, another weight added to a difficult stretch.
Filip Forsberg took a cross-ice pass from Mikael Granlund and slid the puck past Jake Allen just 11.1 seconds into overtime, giving Nashville a 4-3 win over Montreal on Saturday night. The finish was sudden and clean — the kind of moment that makes everything before it feel like prologue.
The game's opening chapter belonged to Eeli Tolvanen, whose first goal since October 14 ended a 22-game scoreless stretch. The deflection off his stick shaft was fortunate, but it carried meaning: as a rookie the prior season, Tolvanen had led Nashville's scorers, and this felt like a quiet return to that promise.
Montreal answered in the second period with purpose. Nick Suzuki ended a ten-game goal drought with a power-play wrist shot, and Christian Dvorak followed with a rebound goal that survived a Nashville goaltender interference challenge. Tanner Jeannot pulled Nashville level again before Brett Kulak put Montreal back ahead early in the third.
Then came Luke Kunin's birthday. He had already collected a goal, an assist, and a fighting major against Kulak — the full Gordie Howe hat trick — before tying the game at 3-3 with just over nine minutes remaining, sending the night into overtime.
Juuse Saros made 20 saves for Nashville; Jake Allen stopped 40 in a losing effort. The Predators now head to Detroit to open a four-game road trip, while Montreal, still searching for footing, welcomes Tampa Bay — both teams in need of a different kind of night.
Filip Forsberg ended it with 11.1 seconds left in overtime, taking a cross-ice pass from Mikael Granlund and sliding the puck past Jake Allen to give Nashville a 4-3 victory over Montreal on Saturday night. It was the kind of finish that defines a game—sudden, clean, decisive—and it lifted the Predators to their second win in three outings while leaving the Canadiens to absorb their fifth loss in six games.
The path to that moment was anything but straightforward. Eeli Tolvanen opened the scoring early in the first period when Mattias Ekholm's one-timer from the left point deflected off Tolvanen's stick shaft and past Allen. It was Tolvanen's first goal since October 14, ending a 22-game drought that stretched back to Nashville's season opener against Seattle. The goal carried extra weight—as a rookie the previous season, Tolvanen had scored 11 times in 40 games, six of them on the power play, leading all Predators scorers. This one felt like a return to form.
Montreal answered quickly in the second period. Nick Suzuki, who hadn't scored in ten games, snapped a wrist shot from the high slot during a power play that beat Juuse Saros on the stick side just under the crossbar to tie it 1-1. Minutes later, Christian Dvorak put Montreal ahead 2-1 when he converted a rebound just outside the crease. Nashville challenged the goal on goaltender interference grounds—Dvorak had made contact with defenseman Alexandre Carrier, who then collided with Saros—but video review allowed it to stand.
Tanner Jeannot brought Nashville level again at 2-2 late in the second, redirecting Ekholm's shot past Allen for his sixth goal of the season. Ekholm's two assists marked his first multi-point game of the year. The third period brought another swing: Brett Kulak, set up by Cole Caufield on the right side, beat Saros with a wrist shot to the glove side just over three minutes in, putting Montreal back up 3-2.
Luke Kunin tied it once more at 10:12 of the third, forcing the game to overtime. It was Kunin's 24th birthday, and he had already recorded what hockey calls a Gordie Howe hat trick—a goal, an assist, and a fighting major, the last one coming when he dropped the gloves with Kulak early in the period. Kunin had also picked up the secondary assist on Tolvanen's opening goal.
Overtime lasted just over eleven seconds. Granlund found Forsberg with space, and Forsberg finished. Saros made 20 saves for Nashville. Allen, in a losing effort, stopped 40. The Canadiens' slide continued; Nashville, meanwhile, heads to Detroit on Tuesday for the start of a four-game road trip, while Montreal hosts Tampa Bay the same night, both teams searching for a way to shift the momentum.
Citações Notáveis
Tolvanen's goal ended a 22-game scoring drought dating back to October 14 against Seattle— Game summary
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