Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield scored, Matheson had two assists and Sam Montembeault made 26 saves for the Canadiens (10-10-2), who went 3-2-0 on a five-game road trip.
Matheson said the ability to roll four lines against the Blue Jackets was critical.
“That’s so difficult to play against when you feel that against a team, you don’t have a lull of pressure where you can kind of regain the momentum,” he said. “That was huge for us to keep pressing every single shift.”
Patrik Laine and Yegor Chinakhov scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets (7-13-4). They had won three of four after a 0-7-2 skid.
The Blue Jackets played three games in four days and four in six.
“I saw a lot of mental mistakes tonight,” Columbus coach Pascal Vincent said. “Just not as sharp, right? Just not connected. We had a decent start. Not great. The second period, we had some push there. But overall, you could feel it the whole game. It wasn't as connected, the intensity.”
Laine made it 1-0 Blue Jackets at 3:40 of the second period. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated past several Canadiens to a sliding shot off the right post during 4-on-4 play.
Newhook tied it 1-1 at 7:36 from the slot after a shot by Kaiden Guhle caromed to him.
“There’s times in the first we dominated, and they pushed back,” Caufield said. “It’s a game of runs to be honest with you.”
Chinakhov regained the lead for Columbus, 2-1, at 9:47 with his second goal in as many games. After the Canadiens couldn’t clear the zone, Zach Werenski passed to Dmitri Voronkov at the left post. He sent a pass through the crease and Chinakhov scored before Montembeault could slide across to cover.
But the Blue Jackets couldn’t sustain the momentum.
“We had to be in our D-zone for extended periods of time, just got to be able to answer those pushes that the other team has and not crumble like we’ve kind of done this year,” Laine said.
Caufield made it 2-2 at 14:08. Merzlikins couldn’t corral the initial shot by Christian Dvorak and Caufield put in the rebound.
“Playing fast in the neutral zone and kind of keeping them in, it’s huge for us momentum-wise,” Caufield said. “I think we did that a few times and it paid off.”
Caufield and Newhook are tied for the team lead with seven goals.
“The last 13 minutes of the second and the third period it felt like the team we know we have and can play like that,” St. Louis said.
The Blue Jackets failed to build on their 5-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Monday.
“It's a 2-2 hockey game going into the third period, and I just didn't think we pushed hard enough,” Werenski said. “We're in no position to let points like that slip. I just think we had a lot more to give in here and we didn't give it, and it's frustrating, especially coming off a big win against Boston, having a day off yesterday.”
NOTES: Caufield in his 145th NHL game became the fifth Canadiens player who debuted in the past 100 years to hit 60 goals prior to their 150th game. He joins Howie Morenz (74 games), Maurice Richard (83), Jean Beliveau (132) and Joe Benoit (135). … With an assist on the Chinakhov goal, Werenski set a Blue Jackets’ record for most assists in a month by a defenseman (11). He broke a tie with Seth Jones (February 2021), James Wisniewski (January 2014), Ryan Murray (January 2014) and Ron Hainsey (December 2006).
