By the time the puck dropped on Tuesday night’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks, Martin St-louis’s men were four points out of the playoffs and desperately needed a win.

Here are three takeaways from the loss. The Canucks were, once again, outscored at the top of the lineup. The Canadiens took a quick 1-0 lead on a Nick Suzuki breakaway opportunity that he finished expertly. The game was 66 seconds old, and Vancouver found itself in a hole.

Montreal’s top line has combined for 15 goals in that stretch. Caufield has nine points (six goals, three assists), Suzuki has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists), and Slafkovsky has eight points (four goals, four assists).

Juraj Slafkovsky scored and contributed a pair of assists as the Montreal Canadiens edged the struggling Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Tuesday.

Led by their top line of Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Cole Caufield, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled then offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.