NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville coach Barry Trotz won't have fond memories of his 1,000th regular-season game coaching the Predators.

The Montreal Canadiens beat Nashville 2-1 when Max Pacioretty scored from the left circle 2:31 into overtime before a sellout crowd Saturday night.

Advertisement

``My job in the seam is to pitch in offensively,' Pacioretty said. ``I think our line did a pretty good job of that, in taking the puck to the net on four-on-four.'

Trotz, who became the fourth NHL coach to spend 1,000 games leading one franchise, thought his Predators were feeling the effects of a five-game road trip. They returned home at 6 a.m. Thursday.

``We weren't skating,' Trotz said. ``We just weren't ourselves. I thought we got our feet under us in the second and third, and we really didn't give up a whole lot after that.'

Trotz didn't think the extra attention to the milestone was a distraction.

``I think it was more of us being a little lethargic,' he said. ``As the game went on we woke up and played our game.'

David Desharnais also scored for Montreal and assisted on the game-winner.

Desharnais scored the only goal of the first period with 6:11 remaining. As Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne dove to his right side Desharnais skated into the crease and backhanded the puck into the open side of the net. Though Desharnais was credited with the backhand, Rinne said the puck went in off his skate.

``I pulled the puck and it hit his skate and went in,' Rinne said. ``It wasn't a kicking motion. It just happened to hit his skate and go in.'

Shea Weber tied the game at the 3:20 mark of the second period on a short-handed goal. He blasted a slap shot from the top edge of the right circle that went into the net, beating Montreal goaltender Peter Budaj to his right side.

``We didn't play our game offensively,' Weber said. ``Obviously, we knew we were going to generate some chances if we got our pucks past their defense. We turned too many pucks over at the blue lines and that led to too many chances for them.

``They are a very quick team. Their forwards can move. They have some small guys, but they can definitely fly.'

Budaj made 25 saves and Rinne stopped 23 shots.

It was only the third game this season the Predators have had more shots than their opponents. They have been outshot a league-high 13 times.

``It was a tight game,' Budaj said. ``They played well, but our guys played great.

``They didn't have many chances in the first period. In the second period there were a few breakdowns and they scored a goal on our power play, which was a momentum swing for them. After that our guys really played well.'

Notes: Nashville's David Poile is the first general manager to spend 1,000 games with two different franchises. ... Montreal forward Andrei Kostitsyn missed his third game with a lower-body injury and didn't get to play against brother Sergei, a Predators forward. ... Tom Fitzgerald, the Predators' first captain, and Mike Dunham, the franchise's first expansion draft pick, returned to Nashville for a pregame ceremony.