Game 80: Montreal Canadiens vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Blue Jackets region: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets were separated by one point when they met on March 26. The Habs were third in the Atlantic Division with 88 points, and the Blue Jackets had just overtaken the Pittsburgh Penguins a couple of days earlier to sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 87.
Over the past two weeks, the teams have gone in polar opposite directions. Montreal left after that game on a five-game road trip, winning all five, and adding two more wins after that streak was broken upon the return home. With a 7-1-0 record, the Canadiens have added 14 points to their total and locked down not just a playoff spot but a top-three seed in their division. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, saw the 2-1 loss at the Bell Centre become the first back-to-back regulation defeats of Rick Bowness’s tenure, and that spiralled into a six-game losing streak. Columbus is 1-6-1 in its last eight contests, watching as three division counterparts past them, and is now floundering in fourth place in the battle for the final wild-card spot.
The Blue Jackets have simply run out of steam. Only the last-place Vancouver Canucks have a lower points percentage over this eight-game plummet, and Columbus has scored just 14 goals in that time. They come into tonight’s game trying to avoid getting eliminated from playoff contention, which will happen if their gap to the Ottawa Senators doesn’t reduce from the current four points.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Blue Jackets |
|---|---|---|
| 47-22-10 | Record | 39-28-12 |
| 48.7% (23rd) | Expected-goal share | 51.7% (9th) |
| 3.43 (7th) | Goals per game | 3.01 (18th) |
| 3.05 (16th) | Goals against per game | 3.09 (22nd0 |
| 23.2% (11th) | PP% | 19.2% (22nd) |
| 78.1% (20th) | PK% | 76.2% (28th) |
| 1-0-1 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-1-0 |
| Cole Caufield (50) | Most goals | Kirill Marchenko (26) |
| Nick Suzuki (70) | Most assists | Zach Werenski (58) |
| Nick Suzuki (98) | Most points | Zach Werenski (80) |
Facing a couple of teams this weekend that are desperate for wins might be a good thing for Montreal. It’s been obvious in the past handful of games that the Habs let up from their normal level of play versus teams with nothing left to fight for. The only concern is that the Blue Jackets seem just as depleted as the Tampa Bay Lightning were on Thursday and the only fight they can show may come after whistles. The Blue Jackets don’t tend to resort to such methods nearly as often as Tampa Bay, ranking 22nd in the league in penalty minutes this season, though 18% of that time has come from major penalties. The last thing the Canadiens want at this stage is an injury at the hands of a disgruntled opponent, but the teams they’re facing can’t afford to lean too far into their nasty sides with points of vital importance.
A few power plays in the game would be nice for Montreal, because they need to get their five-on-four strategies figured out before the post-season arrives. It had ranked in the top five for much of the season, but it now sits 11th in the league. Since the winning streak started, the Canadiens have converted on just 17.5% of the man advantages they’ve received — seven goals in 40 chances — and are 25th in the league in that time. An inability to score while the Lightning paraded to the box on Thursday nearly cost Montreal two points, and it will cost them games in the post-season if it remains that ineffective.
With some of the milestones scratched off the board, there’s less reason to force the puck to specific players. Cole Caufield has his 50th goal and Juraj Slafkovský hit 30 with Thursday’s game-winner. But Nick Suzuki is two goals shy of hitting 30 for a third consecutive year, and hitting that would also give him 100 points for the first time. The captain shouldn’t need a great deal of help hitting triple digits considering he’s only been held off the scoresheet 18 times this year. However, two of those games were the first ones of the season series with the Blue Jackets, so he and the team will be looking to change that situation to move him closer to the number he’s chasing.
