First period
- So you want to boo Patrik Laine, eh? Let’s see how that goes.
- Jack Johnson sees Kirby Dach cutting across the front of the net and plants the Habs centreman right on top of goaltender Jet Greaves. Greaves needs a couple of minutes to get up. That may have been the stupidest hit I’ve ever seen.
- Laine tries to throw a hit on Dmitri Voronkov, bounces off and loses his stick. The physical approach wasn’t effective, the goal-scoring one should be.
- Alexandre Carrier just allowed a breakaway to Cole Sillinger. I don’t think he will let that happen again this game.
- I really didn’t expect this game to be so physical. The Blue Jackets are ornery.
- I guess Mike Matheson didn’t want Johnson holding the title for dumbest play of the period because he just tried to … glide the puck through a player when he was the only defencemen among three attackers.
- David Savard fires a puck off the post. The crowd isn’t booing him, I guess they’re over his departure.
- Leave it to the Evans line to get the first real sustained pressure for Montreal in the game.
- Now Matheson makes a good play, seeing a potential three-on-one materializing and attacking the puck-carrier before the reinforcements arrive.
- A dump-in forces Samuel Montembeault to play the puck into the corner, and the Canadiens can’t recover. Sean Monahan intercepts a quick pass behind the net, and Voronkov scores.
- Things just aren’t as smooth for Montreal as they have been over the past week, and the Blue Jackets need some of the credit.
- Columbus is attempting a lot of stretch passes now, and as long as the defence stays focused to close them off that should open up space for Montreal’s transition.
- The booing is getting Laine off his game a bit. He’s trying to do more than he typically does.
- A shot from the corner surprises everyone … except Kent Johnson, who’s standing at the side of the net to hit an empty cage.
- Montreal just isn’t sharp tonight. It looks like the winning streak will come to an end if they don’t ramp up their effort.
- Some questionable decisions from the Nationwide Arena DJ for this game. I think he hates Christmas and wants everyone else to as well.
Second period
- The fans were booing the wrong former Blue Jacket. Savard makes it a 201 game.
- If Savard scores a goal, you need to win the game. That’s the rule.
- And now Jordan Harris goes bar-down from the high slot.
- I guess that’s why they also included the second-rounder in the deal.
- That was Harris’s second point in 23 games, but that wasn’t exactly what he was known for in Montreal.
- Suzuki takes a stick in the face, but Laine is absent from the bench and not out for the power play.
- Joel Armia comes out with the top unit in Laine’s place, and sets the screen for a Lane Hutson shot that deflects off Johnson and in. It’s the rookie’s second goal.
- Cole Caufield has two assists tonight. He has 21 points in his last 19 games.
- Jake Evans ties the game on a mini break splitting through the defence. What a season he is having.
- Brendan Gallagher fives a little tap on the glove with one hand in the offensive zone and gets called. He complains about it, and ref quickly gives him a misconduct.
- Montembeault makes a couple of big saves in the first of the four minutes of penalties.
- The other ref clearly thought his partner was a bit too thin-skinned on the unsportsmanlike call, and negates the second minor with a tripping call on Columbus. Good teamwork there.
- A very good period for Montreal comes to an end. They need to win one more period to extend this winning streak to four.
Third period
- Can’t beat that start to the third. Carrier puts in a strong effort along the boards, Evans plays the puck to the slot, and Armia chops it in to put Montreal in the lead.
- Caufield goes off for … hooking I guess that was.
- Columbus scores seconds into the power play. Voronkov’s second stops a run of three consecutive Habs goals.
- Dach received the puck at the side of the crease with a completely prone Greaves in front of him. He whacks the puck off Greaves’s pad twice then misses the third second rebound. Pierre Houde was just waiting to make the goal call, but it didn’t happen. Maybe he needs a more aggressive curve on his blade.
- Dach gives up a pass to a wide-open teammate to fire from behind the goal line.
- Hutson loses the puck in his feet at the blue line, and that leads a counter-attack. Samuel Montembeault may have just saved a point with a sliding toe save on a powerful shot.
- Gallagher gets yanked back trying to go in for a shot. The refs call nothing.
- Kiirill Marchemko puts the Blue Jackets ahead on the nest shift with a shot that just goes past Montembeault’s glove.
- Two minutes to find a tying goal. They’ve been stuck on 29 shots for a about half of this period now, probably running out of steam in a third game in four days.
- Suzuki is left completely open in the slot and gets a pass from Caufield, but doesn’t get everything on the shot. It’s an easy save for Greaves.
- Montreal falls 5-4 and won’t leap over another team (it would have actually been two with the Islanders losing) tonight.
- The next game is on December 28 in Sunrise.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) A real multi-tasker
2) But what if they could draft a player as good as Jake Evans?
1) Have a great holiday, everyone!
