The Columbus Blue Jackets were hoping to jump above hockey .500 going into the U.S. Thanksgiving break. They will have to settle for .500 after an overtime loss.
Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki scored just 44 seconds into overtime to lift Montreal to a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. This game will be remembered from a Blue Jackets’ perspective for what was not called prior to the game winner.
Game Recap
The Blue Jackets and Canadiens traded goals in the first period. On just their second shot of the period, Mathieu Olivier beat Cayden Primeau to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. Zach Werenski’s backhanded pass from the corner was perfect and Olivier finished it.
Just under four minutes later, Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first goal in 16 games. Kevin Labanc’s back pass in open space turned into an odd-man rush. Slafkovsky took it himself and beat Elvis Merzlikins clean. Shots in the first period were 9-8 Blue Jackets.
The teams traded goals again in the second period. Yegor Chinakhov gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead with a strong finish of an Adam Fantilli pass. But then a special moment took place that tied the game again.
Cole Caufield scored his 13th goal of the season on the power play. The Canadiens’ number 13 scored his 13th of the season with 13:26 left on the clock. The goal came at 6:34 of the second. Turns out 6+3+4=13. As Caufield told the Hockey Writers exclusively postgame, you can’t script moments like that.
“I can’t tell you I wasn’t thinking about that going into this game, in this building in this city,” Caufield said. “I know he’s looking down. It means a lot to me. It’s pretty crazy. You can’t write a script like that.”
Then for Caufield to score with 13:26 on the clock: “That just says it all right there. You can’t even put into words how important that is for everybody that’s close to me personally. I feel very honored. That’s a special moment.”
The second ended with a Zach Werenski fight against Brendan Gallagher. The teams then traded goals in the third period thanks to Emil Heineman and Werenski. That goal gave Werenski the Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
Suzuki then ended the game 44 seconds into overtime. Merzlikins stopped the first one but left a rebound that Suzuki finished. Blue Jackets’ coach Dean Evason was very frustrated postgame that there was no penalty right before the winner. Kent Johnson was hauled down with nothing called. The loss snapped the Blue Jackets three-game winning streak but their point streak remains.
The Blue Jackets will play next on Black Friday afternoon against the Calgary Flames. The Canadiens return to action Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.