The Montreal Canadiens welcomed Shea Weber to their Ring of Honor tonight and also grabbed two points taking on the Blue Jackets.
Before puck drop tonight, the Montreal Canadiens welcomed former captain Shea Weber to their Ring of Honor. He was introduced to the fans on the red carpet and a massive ovation erupted. The former blueliner, who's always been seen as a tough guy, looked on the verge of tears as the fans cheered. A man of a few words as always, he thanked the fans and it was Serge Savard who revealed his name and number on the Ring of Honor in section 423.
It could have been a disastrous start for Montreal as Cole Caufield was called for a slash early on, but his teammates played very well, Jake Evans even nearly breaking away twice shorthanded and drawing a slashing call of his own.
On the ensuing power play, Mike Matheson found the back of the net with assists from Caufield and Kirby Dach. It was the blueliner's first goal of the year, and one he seemed to desperately need.
At the end of the first frame, the Canadiens had a 1-0 lead and a 16-12 edge in shots. Granted, the Blue Jackets are far from being a powerhouse, but Samuel Montembeault looked very comfortable on the ice, tracking the puck well and moving confidently, something we hadn't seen in a while.
Still waiver pick up Dante Fabbro was able to tie up the game in the second frame with a shot from far out while Kevin Labanc and Emil Heineman had a jousting match in front of Montembeault which prevented him from seeing the puck come at the net.
It wasn't the greatest period for the Canadiens who committed numerous icings, but they were thankfully ahead in the faceoff department and there was no harm done. Columbus saw most of the puck though and dominated shots wise with seven while the Canadiens only took five.
The main event of the second was the heavyweight bout between Arber Xhekaj and Mathieu Olivier. It was a lengthy affair and no one claimed the win, both pugilists gave as good as they got. Xhekaj iced his hand in the penalty box and even went to the Canadiens' room, but he came back in time to get an assist on Nick Suzuki's seventh goal which put Montreal back in front 2-1 with 20 minutes to go.
In the final frame, the Canadiens looked energized, while the Blue Jackets looked like a team who played last night and travelled afterward which they were. Montreal went back to nine shots and even though they took three penalties, they dominated the frame.
Lucas Condotta, Jake Evans and Josh Anderson scored unanswered goals and the Habs signed a 5-1 win. For the first time in a long time, not a single player from the Canadiens ended the night with a minus rating.
If this had been a Hollywood movie, Caufield would have scored his 13th game facing Johnny Gaudreau’s team, but even though he didn’t find the back of the net, he still finished the night with a pair of primary assists. Matheson and Armia also finished the game with two points and Xhekaj, Newhook and Guhle all had a plus-two rating on the night.
While I do not like singling out players, I found that once again tonight, many plays died on Kirby Dach’s stick. Yes, he got an assist on the first goal, but that was after losing the puck twice in the same sequence. There’s something too predictable about his passing and the way he plays on the man-advantage. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to see Lane Hutson take over his man-advantage duty. He's now playing with Matheson on a pairing, why not try that same pair on the power play?
Asked about his second line, the coach said:
I know Jake can play in any chair, that's the chair we're giving him now and we analyse the behavior as well, we played a good game. He plays important minutes and when he plays on a second line like that, I'm comfortable when he's on the ice against the other team's good lines, he's able to be responsible and as well, how Cole is playing a 200-foot game right now. That is encouraging and how he can still make plays without cheating the game, that was a good game for that line, it was an annoying line.
This 5-1 win will do wonders for the team's confidence, but also for Montembeault who played a solid game. Giving up a single goal on 26 shots means he posted a .962 save percentage. Collectively, while the Blue Jackets are not Cup contenders, the way the Canadiens were able to bounce back from a down second period and come back stronger in the third was impressive.
The Canadiens will be back on the ice tomorrow morning at 11:00 AM in Brossard. On Monday night, they'll be hosting the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid, the kind of meeting that requires some preparation. Chances are the visitors will be without Darnell Nurse after he received a hit to the head from Ryan Reaves which should receive supplementary discipline. The kind of play you hate to see.
It will be interesting to see how long David Savard will be out for. He was supposed to play tonight but wasn't on the ice for warm-up and the Canadiens confirmed he was dealing with an upper body issue. His absence gave Jayden Struble a lifeline, but should the veteran big ready for Monday, he'll probably end up on the press gallery.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens