Montreal Canadiens win their 4th straight beating the Predators 4-1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alex Newhook each scored a goal and an assist as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Saturday night.

The Canadiens won their fourth straight in a streak that has them third in the Atlantic Division just ahead of Boston. They swept the season series with Nashville for a second straight season.

Cole Caufield also had a goal as Montreal scored three in the second. He now has 45 goals this season and is the first to reach that mark for Montreal since Stephane Richer had 51 in 1989-90.

Goalie Jacob Fowler, a third-round pick in the 2023 draft held in Nashville, made 23 saves for the win.

Nick Suzuki had two assists for a team-leading 64 this season. Lane Hutson also had an assist and now is the third defenseman in NHL history with multiple 60-assist seasons before turning 23, joining Paul Coffey (three) and Bobby Orr (two).

Nashville lost its second straight after a five-game winning streak pushed the Predators into the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference.

Zachary L'Heureux scored with 3:34 left for Nashville.

The Canadiens outshot Nashville 9-2 in the first period. Demidov put them up 1-0 with a wrister just after skating into the right circle beating goalie Juuse Saros (28 saves) stick-side at 11:34 for his 16th of the season.

Montreal took control 3:12 into the second starting with Kapanen scoring his 22nd from in front of the crease off a pass from Newhook.

The Predators had a pair of power plays in the second against a penalty killing unit ranked 27th in the NHL but couldn’t beat Fowler.

Then Caufield scored on a wrister at 14:45, and Newhook capped the period with a wrister from the left circle at 16:23.

Montreal: Plays at Carolina on Sunday.

The Predators start a six-game road swing Sunday at Tampa Bay.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) looks back as a goal is scored by Montreal Canadiens right wing Ivan Demidov (not pictured) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Montreal Canadiens right wing Ivan Demidov (93) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Justin Barron (20) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Dobson (53) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague (41) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Montreal Canadiens center Alex Newhook (15) shoots the puck past Nashville Predators center Tyson Jost (17) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Montreal Canadiens right wing Ivan Demidov (93) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants matched a franchise record Saturday by reaching 20 straight innings without scoring to begin the season, then finally recorded their first run in the third inning against the New York Yankees before losing 3-1 to be swept.

San Francisco had been shut out by New York 7-0 and 3-0 with only four hits over its first two games — the first time that happened in baseball history to start a season.

The Giants were outscored 13-1 by the Yankees in their opening series, becoming the 11th team to score one or fewer runs over the initial three games of a season.

Jung Hoo Lee began the third Saturday with a double to right off Will Warren, then Matt Chapman followed with an RBI single, and the crowd cheered wildly as many fans jumped to their feet in obvious relief.

New manager Tony Vitello, promoted from the University of Tennessee despite no professional playing or coaching experience, became the ninth manager in baseball history to be shut out in each of his first two games with a team, and seventh manager to do so in his first two games overall, according to Sportradar.

The 20 consecutive scoreless innings matched the previous franchise mark from 1909, when the Giants were scoreless for 13 innings in their opener and the first seven in Game 2.

The only team to get shut out three straight times to open a season was San Diego in 2016, when the Padres were swept by the Dodgers on the way to a 68-94 season.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)