There have been highs and lows – about an equal number, as the record shows above – in the Blue Jackets’ season, but one of the unquestionable tough moments of the year came 11 days ago in Montreal.
Riding high off a 6-2 win at home against Pittsburgh, Columbus flew north of the border for a Nov. 16 game in Montreal and was on the wrong side of a 5-1 loss to the Canadiens. It was a winnable game that got away from the Blue Jackets because of the way they played, and head coach Dean Evason notes it was one of the most disappointing showings of the season for Columbus.
With another matchup against Montreal set for tonight in Nationwide Arena, Evason can look back at the first game against the Habs as an inflection point.
“Up to that point, we were playing well,” he said Wednesday. “We talked about playing winning hockey. Yeah, we had made mistakes, but we were competing and we were doing a lot of really good things. In that game, we didn’t. We didn’t seem like we were together. That’s what really bothered us, is there was no cohesiveness, there was no pushback, there was no stand-up for each other.”
Evason said the Blue Jackets had a meeting after the game with the message of having each others’ backs, and Columbus has won three in a row, all against playoff teams a year ago, since the Montreal game.
The last two required big comebacks – first, a three-goal deficit wiped off the board Thursday vs. Tampa Bay, then a late equalizer that led to a shootout win Saturday vs. Carolina.
“To get reinforced with positivity is a great thing, as long as you don’t take it to overconfidence and (being) cocky or whatever,” Evason said. “But it’s nice to get reinforced. Would we like to score goals early and have a couple-goal lead in the third as opposed to trying to battle back? Yeah, of course, but it’s nice to know that we can do that and we can put that in the memory bank of winning different ways. Hopefully we can continue to do that.”
The three-game winning streak is the Blue Jackets’ first since March 2022, and the Blue Jackets now have won six of the last seven at Nationwide Arena.
“I think we’re learning,” center Sean Monahan said after the win over Carolina. “We’re finding ways to win games. Coming back and getting one late and finishing it in a shootout, it’s a start. It’s a good sign.”
Know The Foe: Montreal Canadiens
Head coach: Martin St. Louis (Fourth season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.76 (21st) | Scoring defense: 3.76 (30th) | PP: 21.4 percent (10th) | PK: 83.3 percent (8th)
The narrative: After a stunning run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens have been in rebuilding mode ever since, drafting such players as Cole Caufield (2019), Kaiden Guhle (2020), Logan Mailloux (2021), Juraj Slafkovsky (2022), David Reinbacher (2023) and Ivan Demidov (2024) in the first round, with Slafkovsky being the first overall pick. The results have yet to come – the Habs finished last in the Atlantic Division each of the past three years and occupy that spot right now – but the hope is that young core will eventually lead to a new era of Montreal hockey.
Team leaders: Captain Nick Suzuki might be one of the more underrated players in the game, posting career-high totals of 33 goals and 77 points last season and adding a team-best 7-12-19 line thus far this year. Now wearing No. 13, Caufield has gotten off to a red-hot start and is tied for 10th in the NHL with 12 goals among his 17 points. Defenseman and CBJ killer Mike Matheson is next with a 1-12-13 line but is out for tonight with injury, while Brendan Gallagher has eight goals among his 12 points.
In net, Sam Montembeault has started 16 games so far, but the Blue Jackets will see backup Cayden Primeau (eight games, five starts, 1-2-1 record, 4.59 GAA, .824 save percentage) tonight.
What's new: The Habs made a splash with the acquisition of Patrik Laine from Columbus this summer with the hope adding an established scorer would help the team get to the next level, but Laine has been out all year with a knee injury suffered in preseason. He is traveling with the team, but St. Louis said earlier this week that Laine isn't expected to play in Columbus. The Canadiens played last night and fell in overtime to Utah, the team’s second straight loss.
Trending: After Montreal's win 11 days ago, the Blue Jackets are just 1-5-1 in the last seven games of the series, and the Canadiens swept all three games a season ago.
Former CBJ: While Laine is yet to play, two longtime Blue Jackets remain on the roster in Josh Anderson (4-6-10) and David Savard (0-5-5).
