Stuck in their first slump of the season, the Montreal Canadiens look to get on track when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
The Canadiens have won just once (1-3-2) in their last six games, and they have been outscored 15-3 during a three-game losing streak. While Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins had a closer score, there was still plenty of offensive frustration for the Habs.
Saturday’s game saw the Canadiens go 0-for-7 on the power play. Jake Evans scored a short-handed goal as part of a 4-for-5 night for the penalty-kill unit, but Viktor Arvidsson’s power-play marker in the second period ended up as the Bruins’ game-winner.
“Special teams definitely lost us the game [Saturday],” Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said, though he felt his team is currently lacking confidence in its overall scoring ability.
“When your touches aren’t confident, you’re not feeling like every play is open to you. It’s tough sometimes … I think we’re trying to force some stuff,” Suzuki said.
Montreal is 0-for-17 on the power play over its last five games. Ending that streak might not be easy against a Columbus team that is 18-for-20 on penalty kills in its last 10 games, as the Blue Jackets’ PK unit has largely recovered from a brutal start to the season.
Monday marks the end of a three-game homestand for the Blue Jackets that included a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
New York held a 20-4 shots advantage at the time of Mika Zibanejad’s power-play goal at 5:42 of the second period. However, 21 of the Blue Jackets’ 25 shots came after Zibanejad’s tally, including Dmitri Voronkov’s power-play equalizer later in the second period.
“Once we I think started to realize it wasn’t going to be easy tonight, we started playing better,” Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski said after the game. “We started playing a little bit harder and making it simpler on ourselves. The second half of the game I thought was very even.”
Kirill Marchenko earned an assist on Voronkov’s goal, giving Marchenko 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) during an 11-game points streak. An appearance on Monday’s scoresheet will tie Marchenko for the second-longest points streak in Columbus franchise history.
Marchenko leads the Blue Jackets in goals (eight) and assists (12) this season. Suzuki leads the Canadiens in assists (17) and points (21), while Cole Caufield leads the Habs with 13 goals.
Since the Blue Jackets play the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, goaltenders Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins will likely split the back-to-back starts. Greaves has started Columbus’ last four games, and seems to have moved ahead of Merzlikins as the Jackets’ first-choice goalie.
Samuel Montembeault (10 starts) and Jakub Dobes (eight starts) have essentially split the starting duties in Montreal’s net. Dobes has struggled in his last four outings but has the better overall numbers of the duo. Dobes has a .901 save percentage and a 2.70 goals against average, while Montembeault has an .858 save percentage and a 3.56 GAA.
The Canadiens are 7-1-0 in their last eight games with the Blue Jackets, dating back to the 2022-23 season.
-Field Level Media
