Facing the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4 in a game filled with turnovers on Thursday.
The Canadian started the game taking a choking forecheck by Columbus that left the Montrealers lost.
Showing resilience, the Canadian tried to right the boat, but the chances Columbus had on the play heralded offensive play.
On a tackle in Montreal territory, Cole Sillinger had a shot that was deflected accidentally to Jordan Harris. For Sillinger’s goal, Brad Larsen’s men had only two shots on goal, one of which paid off for the American centre-forward.
A game revolving around offense gave way to toughness during this early period. A scuffle behind Samuel Montembeault’s goal set the stage for the remainder of the first half.
On many occasions, Mathieu Olivier applied various checks against Canadiens players to make his presence felt.
Sillinger, who had a great time in this game, thanks to numerous turnovers created by Montreal, won a face-off in Habs territory and allowed Gustav Nyquist to double the Blue Jackets lead.
A difficult first period for manager Martin St-Louis who saw his side make several turnovers in his home turf and struggled to maintain defensive stability.
“I think the first period was the worst period of the season,” said Martin St-Louis. We were lucky, it was only 2-0. »
From the first seconds of the second period, the Canadian secures a counterattack orchestrated by Evgenii Dadonov and Josh Anderson, but fails to hit the target.
Martin St-Louis’s talk lashed his players from the start, Cole Caufield taking advantage of Johnny Gaudreau’s upset to unleash a lightning strike which failed to counter Korpisalo’s vigilance.
“In the second half I was convinced that we would not lose this game, because we regained control. We have spent a lot of time in their area and generated many bargains. But it’s not an easy league and when you start late, it will hurt you,” said St-Louis.
Again, Monahan and Xhekaj came up against Korpisalo who didn’t give up and allowed his team to stay in the match. As the pace shifted in the Canadian’s favor, Sillinger continued to be the more menacing taunting Montembeault, but to no avail.
The Canadian’s best chance came from Christian Dvorak: he ran away in front of Korpisalo who was unable to counter him, as he touched the post.
All seemed to be going well for Montreal, but Evgenii Dadonov was sent off for a cross check, which gave the Blue Jackets a chance to widen the gap. However, they were unable to realize their opportunity.
Although Columbus had plenty of chances from Nyquist and Sillinger, Montreal held on and were rewarded with their third line. Late in the second period, the Habs managed to tie the game, following good work by Brendan Gallagher who allowed Josh Anderson to reset the counters on the power play. For Anderson it is the fifth goal with the Canadian uniform.
Early in the third period, Montreal continued their good work by anticipating and shooting Korpisalo on goal, but Korpisalo kept his team in the game.
When David Savard fell into the ice, Johnny Gaudreau launched the Blue Jackets counterattack which allowed its captain, Boone Jenner, to put his team back in front, following a set assisted by Kent Johnson.
Jenner’s goal gave the Ohio team wings by multiplying controls and bombarding Montembeault’s net.
A superb run kicked off by Mike Hoffman allowed Dvorak to serve Brendan Gallagher perfectly, who was able to counter the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender. The fiery Canadian striker, who carried a lot of energy throughout the game, scored his third goal of the season.
While Montreal closed the gap thanks to Gallagher, Columbus came from behind, thanks to an individual play by Sean Kurally that allowed Columbus to regain control in this fight. Kurally scored his fourth goal of the season thanks to an assist from defender Eric Robinson.
His teammate Mathieu Olivier, who had a strong game in terms of strength, stood out once again, but in the offensive sector by opening his counterattack of the season with his first goal of the season.
This attacking match continued seconds after Olivier’s goal. Nick Suzuki took advantage of good work from Kirby Dach and Johnathan Kovacevic to close the gap to one goal in the third period.
Columbus continued to hammer Montreal with his attacks and was rewarded for his relentlessness. Kurally took advantage of a dangerous leap near the ramp to pass Montembeault and outsmart the Quebec goalkeeper.
“That’s why I was beaten. If I go 100%, I don’t hesitate… I was late and was beaten on the side,” says Montembeault.
The two teams who fired at each other throughout the game continued to attack the net until the last second of the game. Columbus came close to inflicting a seventh Montreal goal, but the third period ended.
For Montreal it is the second consecutive defeat.
