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RECAP | Blue Jackets – Canadiens: Habs Back on Winning Track

Rick Stephens

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Montreal Canadiens Game Recap: Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game, Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 60, Home Game 32 | Tuesday February 19, 2019
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

3-2

BLUE JACKETS

Columbus

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines  

Tomas Tatar – Nate Thompson – Brendan Gallagher

Jonathan Drouin – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw 

Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia 

Artturi Lehkonen – Matthew Peca – Charles Hudon

Defense pairings

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Mike Reilly – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Jordie Benn

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Antti Niemi

Scratches

Christian Folin, Nicolas Deslauriers, Phillip Danault

Injuries

none

Game Report

It was a game that both teams needed, each with a tenuous grip on a playoff position. But given that the Canadiens were riding a four-game losing streak, maybe they needed the win just a little bit more. 

It wasn’t an easy nor convincing win for the Canadiens. But it was two points nonetheless, points that may prove to be crucial in the playoff push.

The game was mistake-filled by each team. Montreal got out to a two-goal lead and then faltered. Columbus tied it. A timely goal by Tomas Tatar and strong goaltending by Carey Price proved to be the difference in the game.

With Phillip Danault attending to family matters, Claude Julien missed a prime opportunity to address two pressing issues: entrusting an elevated role to Jesperi Kotkaniemi and instilling the barest minimum of accountability in Jonathan Drouin’s irresponsible game. 

The head coach chose to do neither, instead catapulting Nate Thompson into the first line centre spot. Thompson played admirably in his 17:21 but contributed little to the Habs offence.

Meanwhile Drouin had the most icetime of any Canadiens forward and was on by both Columbus goals. It was Kotkaniemi who assisted on the winning goal taking a shift on the top line  between Tatar and Brendan Gallagher.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Tomas Tatar

▼  Jonathan Drouin, Mike Reilly, Brett Kulak, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Andrew Shaw

The Numbers

 Game Statistics 
CANADIENS   BLUE JACKETS
32 Shots 33
55 Face-off % 46
0-for-3 Power Play 0-for-2
14 Penalty Minutes 16
28 Hits 36
60 Corsi For 46
 Scoring Summary
 FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
 Canadiens (32-21-7) 2 0 1 – – 3
 Blue Jackets (33-23-3) 0 1 1 – – 2
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Domi (20), Byron (11), Tatar (19)
  • FLA: Anderson (21), Foligno (15)
  • MTL: Price (W) 24-16-5
  • FLA: Bobrovsky (L) 24-18-1

Stars of the Game

 NHL Official Three Stars
  1. Max Domi  MTL
  2. Josh Anderson  CBJ
  3. Tomas Tatar  MTL

Watch

 Video Highlights 

What Did They Say?

 Post-game Quotes
Claude Julien  
  • “[Nate Thompson] is an experienced center who knew how to manage the situation well.”
  • “[Carey Price] made some big saves. They’re a big team and they throw lots of pucks on net. There was a lot of traffic in front and he fought through it. The teams that are making a move are the teams that get good goaltending, and he’s giving us that. Even in the games we’ve lost, he’s given us a chance. He’s been good for a while now.”
Brendan Gallagher
  • “It’s nice when you can score a minute and a half into the game. It’s been awhile since we’ve played with the lead. [Carey Price] was unbelievable tonight; he made a lot of big saves. It’s nice to get the win. Hopefully, this contributes and we can build on this into more wins coming up.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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