Despite 29 saves from Elvis Merzlikins and two second-period goals, the Blue Jackets lost 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| MTL CANADIENS | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
1st Period
The best chance of the period came at 17:51 when Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov were on a two-on-one and Chinakhov received Sillinger's pass at the bottom of the right circle and shot it into Samuel Montembeault's stomach.
The teams were tied at zero after the first period with Columbus carrying a 13-9 edge in shots on goal into the second frame.
2nd Period
Patrik Laine opened the scoring at 3:40 at four-on-four after taking the puck away from Sean Monahan in the defensive zone, racing down the right wing, and skating left and shooting right when he arrived at the doorstep.
#CBJ Laine (29) takes the puck from #GoHabsGo Monahan (91), rushes down the right wing, gets to the doorstep, skates left, shoots right, and scores. #GoHabsGo 0-1 #CBJ https://t.co/Jv80pRENh4
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 30, 2023
After hitting the post earlier in the shift, Alex Newhook evened the score at 7:36 after he was left wide open at the right circle.
Before the clip begins, #CBJ Jiricek (55) fails to clear the zone, and he, Provorov (9), and Fantilli (11) all congregate in the left slot, leaving Newhook (15) wide open at the right circle. Laine (29) also didn't enter the picture until it was way too late. #GoHabsGo 1-1 #CBJ https://t.co/dVxDRXKg7M
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 30, 2023
After Kaiden Guhle's clearing attempt was intercepted by the glove of Zach Werenski, he sent a puck to the net, created a net-mouth scramble, and the puck found Chinakhov, who was open at the right doorstep to score on a half-open net at 9:47.
#GoHabsGo Guhle (21) has his clearing attempt picked off by #CBJ Werenski (8), whose centering feed leads to a net-mouth scramble and the puck finds Chinakhov (59) at the right doorstep where he's able to score on a half-open net. #GoHabsGo 1-2 #CBJ https://t.co/063OjpBinP
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 30, 2023
The Canadiens tied the game at 14:06 when Cole Caufield capitalized on Merzlikins' failure to cover up the rebound from Christian Dvorak's shot.
#GoHabsGo Guhle (21) has his clearing attempt picked off by #CBJ Werenski (8), whose centering feed leads to a net-mouth scramble and the puck finds Chinakhov (59) at the right doorstep where he's able to score on a half-open net. #GoHabsGo 1-2 #CBJ https://t.co/063OjpBinP
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 30, 2023
The teams were tied at two after two with Montreal leading 23-19 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Guhle nearly gave Montreal the lead at 3:22 when his shot from the top of the left circle hit the crossbar.
Joel Armia scored the game-winning goal at 17:03 when he deflected Mike Matheson's shot from the top of the right circle past Merzlikins.
LATE LEAD ALERT
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 30, 2023
Joel Armia gives the Canadiens the lead in the third. pic.twitter.com/jF0quJEorr
Gustav Lindstrom sealed the victory for Montreal at 18:03 with an empty net goal, finding the net with a right-point slapshot.
ENG for Gustav Lindstrm. pic.twitter.com/0m65jq7XiR
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 30, 2023
With the 4-2 loss, the Blue Jackets fall to 7-13-4.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: MTL 33-41 CBJ
- Face-off %: MTL 51.4-48.6 CBJ
- Power play: MTL 0/0-0/1 CBJ
- Giveaways: MTL 4-5 CBJ
- Takeaways: MTL 5-9 CBJ
- Blocked shots: MTL 12-18 CBJ
- Hits: MTL 20-23 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): MTL 2.61-2.00 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): MTL 58-51 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): MTL 28-25 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): MTL 25-21 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): MTL 10-11 CBJ
Injury Update
Damon Severson will miss approximately six weeks with an oblique injury. Jack Roslovic has been on IR since Nov. 13 with a fractured ankle that will sideline him for four to six weeks.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets finish their three-game homestand on Friday when they host Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club will travel to Boston to face the Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
