As the Columbus Blue Jackets hit the ice against the Montreal Canadiens, they did so with the knowledge that the All Star Break was looming postgame. After a thrilling 5-2 victory on home ice, the team looked to keep the momentum rolling. To the highlights!
FIRST PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS
Your CBJ starters: Joonas Korpisalo, Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray
Cam Atkinson was buried by Alexei Emelin to start the game, no doubt a response to his hat trick last night.
Chance! Cody Goloubef, in for Fedor Tyutin, saw his shot saved by Ben Scrivens at 1:21.
SAVE!! Korpisalo denied Jacob De La Rose at 2:30.
Chance! A Jack Johnson blast went off Scrivens at 4:45.
SAVE!! After a Gregory Campbell turnover, Korpisalo turned aside Dale Weise at 6:10.
Korpisalo! Another save on Weise at 6:40.
Canadiens power play. At 8:02, Scott Hartnell went off for delay of game after playing the puck with a high stick and knocking it over the boards. I have absolutely no idea what Scott Hartnell was thinking, attempting to make a play on that puck, as it was over his head as he was waving at it. Not a smart play at all.
At 9:15, Korpisalo made an outstanding save on Max Pacioretti, who was left alone in the slot.
Penalty: killed
CHANCE! As the puck bounced through the neutral zone, Scott Hartnell exited the box and took it up ice. He had a chance on net, but Scrivens made a couple saves to keep the score at 0-0 at 10:15.
Jackets on the power play! Torey Mitchell went off for holding Brandon Dubinsky at 10:43.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL!! Boone Jenner taps home early on the power play at 10:51. He was the only one who knew where the puck was after a backhand shot and slotted home a rebound. Assists went to Alexander Wennberg and Seth Jones.
CHANCE!! William Karlsson just missed a Kerby Rychel pass at 12:00.
Power play to Montreal. Seth Jones held Max Pacioretti at 13:51 to prevent a chance after a turnover in the defensive zone.
Save by Korpisalo! Tomas Plekanec was denied at 14:20.
Columbus killed the penalty.
Brandon Dubinsky saw a shot turned aside at 17:05.
Jackets on the power play! Max Pacioretti went off for tripping Alexander Wennberg at 17:32.
Ryan Murray had a chance, but he was denied at 18:10.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL!! Scott Hartnell buries a power play goal at 19:19!! Brandon Dubinsky pressured Andrei Markov, who turned the puck over to Nick Foligno. Foligno found Hartnell, who buried it crashing the net. Assist went to Nick Foligno.
The Blue Jackets ended the first period leading 2-0, and outshooting Montreal 11-9.
SECOND PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS
Fun fact: the last time Columbus scored 2 power play goals in one period? November 10 vs. Vancouver.
Blue Jackets on the power play. Alex Galchenyuk went off for holding Seth Jones at 0:22.
Terrible power play. Columbus never generated any offensive zone presence, and Montreal killed the penalty.
Cam Atkinson was not on the bench to start the second period.
Save! Korpisalo denied Mark Barberio at 3:50.
Canadiens goal. Devante Smith-Pelly was left all alone at the back post, and he got Montreal on the board at 5:22. Torey Mitchell made an excellent pass to Smith-Pelly. Columbus challenged the play, and though it could have plausibly been overturned, the call on the ice stood (meaning there was not enough evidence to uphold the call conclusively, or overturn it). Assists went to Mitchell and P.K. Subban.
CHANCE!! Justin Falk found Brandon Saad, but Saad’s shot was turned aside by Scrivens. There was a juicy rebound, but Saad couldn’t get a stick on it at 7:15.
Oh no. A P.K. Subban blast from the point hit Max Pacioretti in the side of the face, and he went down at 10:08. Play was halted immediately as the Montreal captain skated off the ice. It looked eerily similar to Cody Goloubef’s injury a few months ago.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL!! Brandon Dubinsky! Cam Atkinson had a perfect feed to find Dubinsky in the slot, who put It in at 10:40 and restored the two goal lead. 13 points in 13 games for Dubinsky. Assist went to Cam Atkinson.
Montreal power play. William Karlsson went off hooking Brendan Gallagher at 11:53.
Columbus killed the penalty.
Immediately as the kill was ending, Columbus took another penalty. Matt Calvert went off at 13:00 for holding Tomas Fleischmann.
Columbus killed the Calvert penalty with little danger.
ANOTHER MONTREAL POWER PLAY. Ryan Murray went off for tripping at 15:38.
Columbus killed the penalty, despite Montreal dominating possession and getting 3 shots.
Rene Bourque hit the post at 18:00!
End to end action to end the period, which played heavily in Montreal’s favor.
After a review of a play that hit Cody Goloubef, the puck was determined to not have crossed the net entirely. Montreal was not credited with a goal, and the crowd was livid. A replay went in our favor, yay!
The period ended with Columbus leading 3-1, despite being outshot by Montreal 21-19.
THIRD PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS
CHANCE!! Jack Johnson put a puck on net that Scrivens fought off at the last minute at 1:15.
It was announced at 1:30 that Max Pacioretti would not return to the game.
Montreal’s SIXTH power play. Ryan Murray went to the box for cross checking Tomas Plekanec at 2:45.
Montreal goal. Eventually, Montreal was bound to cash in. Alex Galchenyuk buried a one timer from P.K. Subban at 3:45. Assists to Subban and Nathan Beaulieu.
Chance for Seth Jones turned aside at 5:04.
Montreal was pushing hard to start the 3rd period. They had the volume of possession and were dominating the ice. At the 6:33 mark, it was all Canadiens.
SAVE! Korpisalo got just enough of a P.K. Subban shot to send it over the net at 7:45.
An offensive zone faceoff for Columbus at 11:07! Hooray! (The offensive highlights are that bad right now, folks)
Fun stat: Columbus has 4 players with 15 goals or more, second only to the Washington Capitals (who have 5).
Columbus spent the majority of the first 12 minutes of the third period chasing the puck.
Save for Korpisalo on Smith-Pelly at 13:30.
Any Blue Jackets possession at all would be fun. Is that too much to ask for? Yes.
The third period went like this: Montreal chances, Columbus dump, line change, Montreal chances. Rinse, repeat.
In other words, if you looked up “hanging on for dear life” in the dictionary, you would find video of this third period.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL!! Cam Atkinson from Brandon Dubinsky!! Puppies for everyone! Cam put a shot 5 hole on Scrivens completely against the run of play in the third period. It was his 17th of the season and came at 17:02.
KNEEL BEFORE SAAD! Brandon Saad with a backhand at 18:38 to make it 5-2.
FINAL: Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Montreal Canadiens 2
THREE STARS
*** Seth Jones
** Joonas Korpisalo
* Brandon Dubinsky
QUICK THOUGHTS
A review didn’t go Columbus’ way. Go figure. Thanks, Toronto.
[Please feel free to insert obligatory stay out of the box comment here]
A review went our way later! Who knew that was allowed?
Excellent special teams for Columbus tonight, succeeding on the power play and turning aside Montreal’s efforts for most of the night.
Hopefully Max Pacioretti is alright.
This was an excellent way to close out the first “half” of the season, if you will. Two 5-2 victories, keyed by the core guys (Saad, Dubinsky, Wennberg) leading the way. It’s also encouraging to see Korpisalo win on back to back nights. Perhaps the tide is turning.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jackets head into the All Star Break with a record of 19-27-5. Columbus is off until Tuesday, February 2nd. The team returns to the ice next Tuesday in Edmonton as the team begins its annual Western Canada road trip to take on the Oilers. Faceoff is at 9:00 EST.