The Montreal Canadiens completed their five-game road trip with a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena.
Head coach Martin St-Louis’ men collected six out of ten possible points on their away leg.
In the game against the Jackets, Joel Armia scored the winning goal with about three minutes left in the third period. The Finn saved a powerful shot from Mike Matheson’s point. The veteran played his first game in a CH uniform since November 9th after being recalled from the American League last Friday.
Gustav Lindström completed the scoring in an empty net after Armia made a good attempt to recover the puck in the back of the opponents’ zone.
At the start of the game, the Canadian showed resilience. In fact, the Habs equalized twice in the second period. After a success from Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook hit the mark. The crowd favorite responded through Yegor Chinakhov, but Cole Caufield made sure everyone was on equal terms at the start of the final period. The Canadian sniper took advantage of a very generous return from Elvis Merzlikins and scored his seventh goal of the season.
“The biggest thing we worked on is the forecheck,” Caufield said after the game. It produces results and we have to see the positive in it. […] We reduced our ball losses after the first third and simplified our game.
In front of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge goal, Samuel Montembeault fended off 25 of the 27 pucks sent his way.
CH will be back in action this Thursday when the Florida Panthers visit the Bell Center. This will be Sainte-Flanelle’s first game in front of its fans since November 16th.
HIGHLIGHTS
THIRD PERIOD
19:04 | GOAL – Gustav Lindstrom (MTL) scores in an empty net
17:12 | GOAL – Joel Armia (MTL) deflects a shot from Mike Matheson (MTL) and Elvis Merzlikins is beaten
14:43 | Alexandre Texier (CBJ) meets Samuel Montembeault (MTL)
13:36 | Josh Anderson (MTL) shoots and, to everyone’s surprise, misses the target
12:25 | Cole Caufield (MTL) receives the puck from a rival at the top of the slot but cannot beat Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ).
12:07 | Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL) beats Cole Sillinger (CBJ) solidly
10:07 | Tanner Pearson (MTL) attempts an offensive attack in the infantry. digital, but his unconvincing shot is stopped by Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ).
8:18 | Gustav Lindstrom (MTL) sends the puck over the goal window, he is penalized
7:29 | Kaiden Guhle (MTL) checks Boone Jenner (CBJ)
5:52 | Jayden Struble (MTL) checks Sean Kuraly (CBJ)
4:11 | Yegor Chinakov (CBJ) meets Samuel Montembeault (MTL) again.
3:22 | Kaiden Guhle (MTL) sends a shot over the bar
1:56 | Jake Bean (CBJ) meets Samuel Montembeault (MTL) again
1:06 | Close save by Samuel Montembeault (MTL) at the expense of Justin Danforth (CLB)
0:35 | Nick Suzuki (MTL) misses two chances in quick succession
0:00 | Beginning of the third third
SECOND PERIOD
6:30 p.m. | Joel Armia (MTL) gets a golden opportunity at a surplus and obviously misses it
5:39 p.m | Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL) narrowly misses the target in a piece orchestrated by Cole Caufield
5:35 p.m | Solid featherweight clash between Cole Caufield (MTL) and Johnny Gaudreau (CBJ)
14:08 | GOAL – Christian Dvorak (MTL) attempts a shot into the opposing goalkeeper’s chest, but he allows Cole Caufield to score with a loose puck
13:14 | Important save by Samuel Montembeault (MTL) against Boone Jenner, who wanted to pull away
12:38 | Great chance for Justin Barron (MTL), who misses the target
11:57 | Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ) stands in front of Josh Anderson (MTL)
9:47 | GOAL – The Blue Jackets respond quickly to CH as Yegor Chinakov (CBL) scores his third goal of the season
7:36 | GOAL – Alex Newhook (MTL) jumps on a loose puck in the slot and scores
7:30 | Alex Newhook (MTL) escapes and hits the post
5:37 | Cole Caufield (MTL) narrowly misses the target with a wrist shot
3:40 | GOAL – Patrik Laine (CBJ) escapes and scores after a loss of possession caused by Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan (MTL).
2:45 | Good scrum behind the net by Samuel Montebeault (MTL) after a break in play: Johnathan Kovacevic (MTL) and Sean Kuraly (CBJ) are both penalized for two minutes
1:39 | Boone Jenner (CBJ) meets Samuel Montembeault (MTL)
0:20 | Solid test from Kaiden Guhle (MTL) on Dmitri Voronkov (CBJ)
0:00 | Start of the second period
FIRST PERIOD
17:51 | Yegor Chinakov (CBJ) misses a chance in a two-on-one
15:58 | Alex Newhook (MTL) cleverly redirects a pass from Nick Suzuki, but Elvis Merzilikins (CBJ) was ready
2:45 p.m. | Nice save by Samuel Montembeault (MTL) after a direct shot by Zach Werenski (CBJ)
13:41 | Samuel Montembeault (MTL) frustrates Cole Sillinger (CBJ) again
11:19 | Elvis Merzlikins (BJ) resists an offer from Nick Suzuki (MTL)
10:15 | Another save by Samuel Montembeault (MTL) after a covered shot by Erik Gudbranson (CBJ)
8:40 | Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL) misses a great chance near goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ)
7:25 | Erik Gudbranson (CBJ) shoots in traffic, Samuel Montembeault (MTL) holds on
5:12 | Samuel Montembeault (MTL) opposes charges by Dmitri Voronkov (CBJ)
3:00 | Sean Kuraly (CBJ) misses a great chance from an over
2:14 | Samuel Montembeault (MTL) stops a shot from Cole Sillinger (CBJ)
0:28 | A shot from Kaiden Guhle (MTL) hits the post
0:00 | Start of the meeting
Lineups for today’s game: