(Montreal) Samuel Montembeault recovered well after giving up on the first shot of the game, but the Columbus Blue Jackets still took the measure of the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Posted at 3:29 p.m.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Patrik Laine — on the power play with 7.2 seconds left in the game — blackened the scoresheet for the Blue Jackets (23-22-1), who are on a three-game winning streak.
Cole Caufield was the only one to find the back of the net for the Canadiens (8-32-7), who suffered nine straight losses for the first time since the 1939-40 season.
Montembeault, who is still hampered by a minor upper-body injury, got the start and stopped 40 shots in front of the Habs net. It was his first start since Jan. 30, against those same Blue Jackets.
At the other end of the rink, the goaltender of the Jackets Elvis Merzlikins was not particularly tested. However, he ended his work day with 30 stoppages.
The last notes of the national anthems had barely finished resounding in the Bell Center when the Blue Jackets opened the scoring.
Bjorkstrand beat Montembeault on the first shot of the match, after only 1:16 of play. At the other end of the ice, it took 5:29 for the Montrealers to fire a first shot in the direction of Merzlikins. In short, it was difficult.
The Habs didn’t play much better in the second period, and had it not been for Montembeault’s brilliance in front of his goal, the deficit could have been much worse than 1-0 after 40 minutes of play.
Caufield eventually tied the score with a precise wrist shot at 2:55 of the third period. Laine completed the scoring in the dying seconds of the game with a powerful shot from the face-off circle to the right of Montembeault, while Jeff Petry was in jail for tripping.
St. Louis had opted for the same starting lineup as in the last game, against the Washington Capitals. Christian Dvorak has therefore been removed from the starting line-up of CH, as have Michael Pezzetta and Cédric Paquette.
It was the second game between the two teams in a very short time, after the 6-3 loss conceded on January 30 at the Bell Centre.
It was also the sixth game of an eight-game home stint for the Bleu-blanc-rouge. There were 500 spectators in the stands of the Bell Center for the occasion, in accordance with the directives of the Public Health of Quebec.
The Canadian will continue the traditional Super Bowl weekend by crossing swords with the Buffalo Sabers on Sunday in the metropolis.