So, how did you appreciate Fan Appreciation Night?<\/p>\n
The Canadiens \u201cplayed\u201d their final home regular-season game Saturday night at the Bell Centre and, keeping with the organization\u2019s tradition, the players took the jerseys off their backs for lucky fans at the conclusion of this 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
It was a night when the spectators uncharacteristically started braying in the second period \u2014 a 20-minute sequence during which the Canadiens had five shots, including two through 14 minutes.<\/p>\n Columbus\u2019 only shot at a playoff position is overtaking Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division. So the Blue Jackets are desperate. Guess what? The Canadiens should have been as well, especially after learning Tampa Bay defeated Boston on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n While the Lightning and Canadiens are tied in the Atlantic Division standings with 104 points, the former has seven more regulation wins. Montreal, which defeated Tampa Bay on Thursday<\/a>, must finish with more points than the Lightning \u2014\u00a0or Buffalo for that matter \u2014\u00a0to secure home-ice advantage in the playoffs\u2019 opening round. The Sabres are first in the division, with 106 points. All three teams have two games remaining. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n Our random thought of the night: <\/strong>Cole Caufield<\/a> should have waited until Saturday to score his 50th goal this season. Perhaps that would have prompted more desperation? He did, however, score his 51st \u2014\u00a0if that helps?<\/p>\n News you need (Part I): <\/strong>If Nick Suzuki produces a 100-point season \u2014\u00a0which seems likely \u2014\u00a0it will come on the road. The Canadiens\u2019 captain sits at 99 points after drawing an assist on Caufield\u2019s early third-period goal.<\/p>\n News you need (Part II): <\/strong>When Columbus was last in Montreal<\/a>, on March 26, it was coming off a 3-2 win at Philadelphia, improving to 38-22-11. A playoff berth seemed possible. The Blue Jackets lost 2-1 to the Canadiens that night \u2014\u00a0the first of six consecutive defeats. The team\u2019s record now is 40-28-12, and it still faces an uphill battle, trailing the Flyers by two points. Both teams have two games remaining.<\/p>\n Best mullet in the NHL: <\/strong>Columbus\u2019 Kirill Marchenko, who also scored the Blue Jackets\u2019 third goal.<\/p>\n Strange, but true:<\/strong> Each of the previous four games between these teams had been decided by one goal.<\/p>\n Strong like bull: <\/strong>Russian native Ivan Provorov played his 244th consecutive game against Montreal. He hasn\u2019t missed one since the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n News you need (Part III):<\/strong> Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes<\/a> lost for the first time in eight starts. He had allowed only 12 goals over that span. This marked the first time Dobes has allowed this many goals since March 3, at San Jose<\/a>.<\/p>\n News you need (Part IV):<\/strong> Twenty-one of Caufield\u2019s 51 goals have come on Saturday.<\/p>\n Wake up call:<\/strong> Columbus produced the game\u2019s first eight shots in the opening three minutes. The visitors already had a 1-0 lead by that point.<\/p>\n What might have been:<\/strong> Juraj Slafkovsky, who has 30 goals, hit the post in the game\u2019s sixth minute.<\/p>\n Pass of the night (Part I):<\/strong> Jake Evans to Josh Anderson<\/a> on the Canadiens\u2019 first goal.<\/p>\n Pass of the night (Part II): <\/strong>Marchenko to Charlie Coyle on Columbus\u2019 final goal. It was Coyle\u2019s second goal of the game, and 20th this season.<\/p>\n Quelle tir:<\/strong> Marchenko beat Dobes high to the stick side.<\/p>\n Do better: <\/strong>In the eighth minute of the second period \u2014\u00a0and instead of taking a few more strides before dumping the puck \u2014\u00a0Arber Xhekaj sent it down the ice from his own side of centre, resulting in an unnecessary icing call.<\/p>\n How not to play defence:<\/strong> Jayden Struble\u2019s weak clearing attempt along the boards was intercepted by Kent Johnson. He fed former Canadien Sean Monahan for Columbus\u2019 fourth goal.<\/p>\n Great moments in officiating: <\/strong>Almost five minutes into the third period, Adam Fantilli cross-checked Mike Matheson<\/a> to the back, then slashed the Canadiens defenceman across the ankle. Matheson retaliated \u2014\u00a0and received a double roughing minor. Fantilli? One roughing minor.<\/p>\n Dumb penalty: <\/strong>Alexander Texier was called for holding in the third period, when the Canadiens still had a chance and were on the power play for another 42 seconds.<\/p>\n And it could have been worse: <\/strong>Already leading by three, Boone Jenner\u2019s wrap-around attempt hit the post in the third period.<\/p>\n The hunt for the Green Jacket:<\/strong> Slafkovsky, Matheson and Noah Dobson, who didn\u2019t return for the third after taking a shot to his thumb, all had goal differentials of minus-2. Dobson\u2019s equipment was still hanging in the dressing room post-game, making it unlikely he\u2019ll play Sunday night on the road against the New York Islanders. If Dobson, a supreme shot-blocker, fractured his digit and is unavailable for the playoffs, the Canadiens will feel the pain.<\/p>\n Quick stats:<\/strong> Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov each had four shots \u2014\u00a0and the Canadiens only had 22 in total. Joe Veleno<\/a> had eight hits. Xhekaj had four blocked shots, while Evans had three. Struble was guilty of four giveaways, but also had three hits. Dobes\u2019 save percentage was .848. The Canadiens blocked 18 shots, won 44.4 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit Columbus, 21-15.<\/p>\n They said it:<\/strong> \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it \u2014\u00a0the more desperate team won tonight,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI just feel like they beat us all night in battles, the forecheck and being physical. I don\u2019t know what to say. We just had no juice. We\u2019ve been talking about trying to win the division and get home ice, (then) you play a game like tonight. I don\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fans have every right to boo,\u201d he added. \u201cThey pay a lot of money to come out. Especially on a Saturday night you need a better effort than that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe played a team that came out very aggressive and played with a lot of urgency,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think we matched that to the level that we needed to. At some points, we weren\u2019t playing hard enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just chasing it, right off the hop,\u201d Evans said. \u201cSlow start, started to get some momentum and then it died out in the second. We were playing catch-up. Emotionally, it has been a lot of ups recently. But we can\u2019t just sit on that. We have to keep going. You want to put yourself in the best position. We didn\u2019t do that tonight. That just sucks. You want to get home-ice. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n hzurkowsky@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/cp176128370_302544019.jpg\")
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