Cole Caufield scored the winning goal as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime at the Bell Centre.

GAME RECAP | Columbus Blue Jackets vs Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards

22 Cole Caufield 14 Nick Suzuki 49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard
17 Josh Anderson  15 Alex Newhook 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson 91 Sean Monahan 11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta 71 Jake Evans 56 Jesse Ylonen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson 52 Justin Barron
54 Jordan Harris 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
72 Arber Xhekaj 27 Gustav Lindstrom

Goaltenders

Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault 
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Joel Armia, Cayden Primeau

Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body), Kirby Dach (lower body), Kaiden Guhle (upper body), David Savard (hand)

Game Report

Cole Caufield scored the deciding goal with 42 seconds left in overtime as the Canadiens beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. It was Caufield's fourth goal of the season and his second game-winner in extra time. Montreal survived a Columbus power play for the first minute of overtime with Brendan Gallagher in the box.

Columbus had leads of 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 in the second frame. Sound familiar? Like the recent experience of the Canadiens, they had trouble holding the lead with Sean Monahan scoring the only goal of the third period to tie the score.

The two teams may find themselves in a race near the bottom of the standings as the season progresses. Both organizations are rebuilding with the Blue Jackets having the youngest roster in the NHL, and the Canadiens icing the second youngest.

A few weeks ago there seemed to be consensus around the NHL projected standings: the Columbus Blue Jackets are likely to finish eighth in the Metropolitan Division and it's probable that the Montreal Canadiens will finish eighth in the Atlantic Division.

Tonight, the Blue Jackets came out of the gate in a feisty mood, targeting Arber Xhekaj and Alex Newhook with checks from behind. But more concerning, Columbus had a 2-0 lead by taking advantage of Canadiens turnovers and some suspect goaltending.

It was too much for head coach Marty St. Louis who, by all reports, lambasted his players during the first intermission. The Canadiens captain responded by scoring a first shift goal in the second period and his teammates a more inspired effort in the final 40-plus minutes.

Game Statistics

Canadiens (4-2-1)
Shots: 29
Face-off %: 46.3
Power play: 2/5
Penalty minutes: 17
Hits: 20
Blocks: 24

Blue Jackets (3-2-2)
Shots: 36
Face-off %: 53.7
Power play: 2/4
Penalty minutes: 19
Hits: 16
Blocks: 23

Scoring Summary

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Suzuki (1), Matheson (2)-PPG
3rd period: Monahan (3)-PPG
OT: Caufield (4)
SO: n/a

Blue Jackets Scorers
1st period: Roslovic (2), Bemstrom (2)-PPG
2nd period: Bemstrom (3)-PPG
3rd period: No scoring
OT: No scoring
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
MTL: Montembeault (W) 2-1-0
CBJ: Merzlikins (OTL) 2-1-2

Canadiens Players of the Game

Cole Caufield - Caufield's overtime goal was the sixth of his career and his 10th game winner.

Nick Suzuki - Suzuki has had a tough start to the season including Tuesday night against the Devils. But tonight, Suzuki had a goal and two assists.

Sean Monahan - Monahan scored the game-tying goal and led the forwards in ice time and faceoff percentage.

Video Highlights

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C78KK7DwI10[/embed]

Post-game Quotes

Marty St. Louis on his leadership group

“I feel that I am close to them, they know that I can understand everything they are going through. I'm not trying to tell them what to do, but rather lead them in the right direction. Leadership starts from the top and I do my part, but it's important that leadership is passed down to the bottom. It’s important for them that they do that, that’s how you build a team."

Game Preview

Canadiens Looking to Bounce Back Against the Blue Jackets | PREVIEW: CBJ @ MTL

Up Next

The Canadiens will complete their homestand by hosting the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.

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