Habs finish stretch of seven straight road games with a 1-5-1 record after losing 6-3 to Predators.

NASHVILLE — The good news for the Canadiens is that they’re finally going back home.

The bad news is that they finished a stretch of seven straight road games with a 1-5-1 record following Tuesday night’s 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators at the Bridgestone Arena.

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Cody Glass, Colton Sissons, Mattias Ekholm, Thomas Novak, Roman Josi and Matt Duchene scored for the Predators, who improved their record to 16-14-6.

Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher scored for the Canadiens as their record fell to 15-20-3. The Canadiens are in last place in the Atlantic Division and rank 27th in the overall NHL standings.

The Canadiens have now lost five straight games in regulation time and are winless in their last six (0-5-1). They beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 in overtime to start this long stretch of road games on Dec. 19 and things really went downhill after that. The Canadiens have been outscored 32-11 in the last six games — including 22-7 in the last three — with continuous defensive breakdowns, very little offence from anyone not named Caufield and too many undisciplined penalties.

The Canadiens mothers were in attendance for the last two games as part of a trip organized by the team — including a 9-2 blowout loss to the Capitals on New Year’s Eve in Washington. It must have been tough for the moms to watch their boys get beaten so badly.

On the bright side for the Canadiens and their fans, each loss gives them a better chance of winning the NHL draft lottery with generational player Connor Bedard — who is putting on a show with Team Canada at the world junior championship — as the prize.

After Tuesday’s morning skate, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said that the long stretch of road games took a toll on his players, who haven’t played at the Bell Centre since a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 17. Groupe CH, which owns the Canadiens, wants the team to be on the road for a long stretch during the Christmas and New Year holiday period so that the Bell Centre can be used for other money-making events.

“I feel we’re a tired group — could be physically, could be mentally,” St. Louis said. “This was a hard month. December was really hard for us with the travel, but also with the schedule, the teams that we played, with the injuries that we got. Even we got that time off for Christmas we had to all get back all the way from Dallas (after a game on Dec. 23) and go back to Tampa (for a game on Dec. 28) and some of the guys’ travel wasn’t smooth between those two days. So it wasn’t really a break. It was a grind still. So I think we’ve been grinding for a while and that takes its toll.”

The Canadiens looked tired — again — to start against the Predators.

Glass opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:10 of the first period with the Canadiens’ Joel Edmundson in the box for a delay-of-game penalty for flipping the puck over the glass. It marked the fourth straight game the Canadiens gave up the opening goal in the first five minutes of the first period. It was also the start of a tough night for Edmundson, who finished minus-3.

There was a video review to see if Glass used a high stick to deflect the puck past goalie Samuel Montembeault. While the review was being done, the Beatles’ “Let it Be” was played over the speakers at the arena.

It was to be and the goal counted. Then it was time for the Predators’ goal song, “I Like It, I Love It,” by country star Tim McGraw.

If the Canadiens didn’t know the words to that song already, they probably do after this game. And they probably don’t like it or love it.

Sissons made it 2-0 for the Predators at 5:49 of the first period on a beautiful pass from Filip Forsberg, and then Ekholm made it 3-0 at 10:42.

Caufield got the Canadiens on the board with his team-leading 22nd goal of the season with 50 seconds left in the first period. Caufield made a beautiful move to his backhand on a breakaway to beat goalie Juuse Saros. Caufield scored both goals for the Canadiens in the loss to Washington.

Malade. Juste malade. What a move, Cole.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/xfyS28lBxU

Anderson cut the Predators’ lead to 3-2 at 6:40 of the second period with his 10th goal of the season, scoring on a shot Saros should have stopped with his glove. But that was as close as the Canadiens would get. The Predators took a 5-2 lead by the end of the second period on goals by Novak at 8:18 and Josi at 17:48.

Duchene made it 6-2 at 4:43 of the third period when he scored the Predators’ second power-play goal on a five-on-three with Jordan Harris in the penalty box for hooking and Jake Evans for tripping. It was the 12th power-play goal the Canadiens have allowed in the last six games.

The Predators were unable to convert their touchdown of goals to finish the game and Gallagher made the score more respectable for the Canadiens when he scored his fourth of the season with 3:01 left on the clock.

The Canadiens were flying back to Montreal after the game and will be back in action Thursday when the New York Rangers visit the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

Things won’t get easier at home since the Canadiens have a losing record (7-9-0) at the Bell Centre this season.

Joel Armia and Johnathan Kovacevic will be healthy scratches, while Anthony Richard and David Savard return to Habs lineup.

Tampa Bay 4, Montreal 1. Canadiens' power-play woes continue.

Alex Ovechkin records his 30th career hat-trick as Habs losing streak reaches five games and they sit in last place in Atlantic Division.

"We got to settle down and play well defensively," defenceman David Savard adds after 6-3 loss to Predators in Nashville.

Florida 7, Montreal 2. Power play got some good news though.

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