Patrik Laine shared some unkind words in his pregame availability in his return to Columbus. Would the Jackets respond with some extra energy as they seek their first win against Montreal this season?
First Period
Laine was welcomed back to Nationwide with boos on his first few puck touches, a leveling hit from Voronkov, and a skirmish with Dante Fabbro. The beginning of this game was high energy with plenty of back and forth action featuring a Savard shot of the post and Jack Johnson shoving a Canadien into Jet Greaves. Halfway through the period a puck went between the Habs D and a race for the puck ensued. Voronkov was ahead of the Montreal defenders forcing Montembeault to come out for the puck. His effort did not prevent the Jackets from collecting the puck and Monahan worked from down low before to hit Voronkov in the slot for the a one timer to open the scoring.
CBJ Goal 1-0: Voronkov (Monahan) 12:03
Late in the period the Sillinger line got the puck deep, Olivier found the puck and cycled it up the wall. A sneaky shot from Werenski off the wall went off the post and fluttered over the goal line where KJ was posted up to bat it in.
CBJ Goal 2-0: Johnson (Werenski, Olivier) 18:45
Fun period of hockey. The Jackets settled in after the opening frenzy and did a nice job stifling any Montreal offense while still creating great chances of their own.
At 5v5 CBJ led shots 11-6, attempts 24-19, and xG 1.63-0.52
Second Period
Good response from Montreal with David Savard sneaking down unchecked early in the second to receive pass off the end boards that he put through Greaves.
MTL Goal 2-1: Savard (Caufield, Suzuki) 2:03
A quick response from the Jackets when Jordan Harris strolls into zone and slaps a loose puck high in the zone off the post and in for his first as a Columbus Blue Jacket.
CBJ Goal 3-1: Harris (Marchenko, Monahan) 3:34
Voronkov was the first player to the penalty box, off for high sticking 5 minutes in. At this point it was obvious there was no Laine on the ice, or the bench. A good kill for the Jackets ultimately doesn’t matter. Just after the penalty expired, Hutson shot a puck that went off of the blade of Jack Johnson’s stick and into the net.
MTL Goal 3-2: Hutson (Slafkovsky, Caufield) 7:03
Montreal got the better opportunities in the middle of the frame but Greaves was up to the task until a clean breakout from the Habs ended when Jake Evans flew between Harris and Johnson for a breakaway chance.
MTL Goal 3-3: Evans (Heineman, Savard) 14:26
With about 4 minutes left Gallagher gave the Blue Jackets their first power play after slashing Monahan. He was then assessed another minor after saying something unkind to the officials. The first power play unit created a few chaotic chances in front of the net but the man advantage came to an end when Provorov tripped Savard. 4 on 4 favored the Jackets but the period came to a close tied.
Not a good period from Columbus here. Montreal with the lead in 5v5 shots 9-2, attempts 21-3, xG 1.29-0.07 and of course, goals 3-1.
Third Period
Montreal immediately takes their first lead of the game in the third period when Armia gets a puck past Provorov.
MTL Goal 3-4: Armia (Evans, Carrier) 0:20
CBJ back to the power play shortly after for a Caufield hook. A great keep in from KJ started a gorgeous passing sequence that concluded with Voronkov, again, ripped one in from the slot.
CBJ PP Goal 4-4: Voronkov (Marchenko, Werenski) 3:24
Fun back and forth hockey for the rest of the period. Ludicrous save sequence from Jet here to deny Dach.
Montembeault with his own great save on a wonderful pass from KJ across the slot a bit later in the period. Finally Marchenko got the puck in the neutral zone with two and half minute remaining, carried it into the zone and wired a shot through a screen off the post and in to retake the lead late.
CBJ Goal 5-4: Marchenko (Monahan, Werenski) 7:03
Jackets and Jet withstand the 6-on-5 push from the Habs late to hold on to the win. Even period with the Jackets leading in 5v5 shot attempts at 22-20. but losing in shots 12-13, and xG 1.37-1.16.
Final Thoughts
The Blue Jackets clearly heard Laine’s pregame comments and came out hard on him. He was noticeably roughed up in the first period and unfortunately didn’t make it out unscathed. He never left the locker room after the first 20. There’s just something about this Montreal team that creates bounces against the Jackets on top of their good transition game that exposes poor defensive play. The Jackets were really solid in the first, but from the second period on, only the top line could really be trusted to not have a breakdown defensively.
The Marchenko (1-2-3)-Monahan (0-3-3)-Voronkov (2-0-2) line continues to wow. Constantly threatening the Canadiens defense and limiting chances against, it’s fun to watch. KJ and Sillinger had individual moments but the bottom two lines were fairly forgettable in this one. One of the assistant coaches coming out of the intermission mentioned there were too many “one and done” sequences and I can’t help but to think he was talking about the Fantilli line specifically. Fantilli was also somewhere in no man’s land back-checking on the Evans goal against.
Werenski with a ho-hum 3 assist night and Mateychuk with some good moments. I won’t criticize him for being out of position here and there because his calm composure and good skating showed through. Evason trusted Denton enough that his ice time was almost equal to the combined ice time of Christiansen, Harris, and Jack Johnson. Congrats to Harris on his first for Columbus.
Jet made some huge saves in this one and absolutely gave them a chance to win it late. It would be nice if the defense could figure out how to limit all the high danger chances against and not tip goals past him.
Close on the scoreboard, and close in the shot stats at all situations per NST. CBJ with the edge in shots 32-31, Habs with the edge in shot attempts 65-59, and xG 3.88-3.24. Special teams were good in this one, and more importantly were not a major part of it.
Up Next
Following the Holiday the Jackets welcome the Bruins to Nationwide for the first leg of a home and home on back to back nights. Puck drop on Friday the 27th is at 7pm EST.