Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on the recent game between the Laval Rocket and the Syracuse Crunch. GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 4 vs Columbus Blue Jackets 2 | Final Montreal Canadiens defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNTY4OTUyMDkyNTY2NTk2/canadiens-3.png] Montreal Canadiens defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 CANADIENS LINEUP Forwards 15 Alex Newhook - 14 Nick Suzuki - 11 Brendan Gallagher 22 Cole Caufield - 28 Christian Dvorak - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky 40 Joel Armia - 91 Sean Monahan - 17 Josh Anderson 70 Tanner Pearson - 71 Jake Evans - 56 Jesse Ylonen Defensemen 8 Mike Matheson - 52 Justin Barron 21 Kaiden Guhle - 27 Gustav Lindstrom 47 Jayden Struble - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic Goaltenders Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault Alternate: 34 Jake Allen Out of the lineup Scratches: Mattias Norlinder, Michael Pezzetta, Cayden Primeau Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), David Savard (hand), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Arber Xhekaj (upper body), Jordan Harris (lower body) GAME REPORT Canadiens head coach Marty St. Louis called it a team victory resulting from depth. Indeed! Montreal got goals from each of the team's top three lines with Joel Armia being the surprise hero to score the game winner. But beyond the shallow praise, it was a sloppily-played game by both teams: errant passes led to turnovers aplenty! Mental mistakes created opportunities. Neither team was sharp in this game. Prior to tonight, the Canadiens last played on Saturday afternoon. So, with three days off, it took them a period to find their game. The Blue Jackets were coming off an upset win over the Boston Bruins and lacked intensity throughout this contest. Columbus twice relinquished two-goal leads. Montreal took their first and only lead of the game with 2:57 remaining in the third period. Despite getting the win, it was an off night for Sam Montembeault. The 27-year-old lacked body control in this game. He regularly over-played the puck putting himself wildly out of position for rebounds. Fortunately his teammates came to the rescue more often than not. Sportsnet's Mark Spector reported that three members of the Edmonton Oilers hockey operations staff took in the game at Nationwide Arena: assistant general manager Brad Holland, pro scout Warren Rychel and goaltending scout Jeff Salajko. GAME STATISTICS Canadiens (10-10-2) Shots: 31 Face-off %: 51.4 Power play: 0/0 Penalty minutes: 4 Hits: 20 Blocks: 12 Blue Jackets (7-13-4) Shots: 28 Face-off %: 48.6 Power play: 0/1 Penalty minutes: 2 Hits: 23 Blocks: 18 SCORING SUMMARY Canadiens Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: Newhook (7), Caufield (7) 3rd period: Armia (2), Lindstrom (2)-ENG OT: -- SO: -- Blue Jackets Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: Laine (4), Chinakhov (3) 3rd period: -- OT: -- SO: -- Goaltenders MTL: Montembeault (W) 5-3-1 CBJ: Merzlikins (L) 5-8-3 CANADIENS PLAYERS OF THE GAME Kaiden Guhle - Guhle had the primary assist on Alex Newhook's goal enroute to playing a few seconds short of 25 minutes in this game. Joel Armia - Armia scored the game-winner in his first game since being recalled from the Laval Rocket. Armia played 16:26 in ice time on the third line. Alex Newhook - Newhook scored his seventh goal of the season. He's tied for the team lead in that category with Cole Caufield. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7HZOd5nHW8[/embed] POST-GAME QUOTES Joel Armia “It's always a good feeling when you score. I will take all the positives from this match and continue to move forward." GAME PREVIEW Armia Returns to the Canadiens Lineup | PREVIEW: MTL @ CBJ [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/game-day/armia-returns-to-the-canadiens-lineup-preview-mtl-cbj] UP NEXT The Canadiens return to Montreal to host the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Cayden Primeau gets the start in goal. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. Gretzky Signature Series [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNzAzMjM2NzQxMTEzNjIw/gretzky-northland.jpg] Gretzky Signature Series
