The Blue Jackets fell 1-2 in Montreal as the hometown Canadiens closed out the hockey game on a late Pacioretty powerplay goal.
Columbus built a lofty shot block total, and handily won the faceoff battle; while on the other end, the Canadiens played to their pre-game hype, with a number of speedy rushes up ice to challenge Bobrovsky and the Columbus defense.
The game got chippy in places. An Alexei Emelin hit on Matt Calvert earned the Habs d-man a 5 minute major and game misconduct for interference. A Nick Foligno hit on Beaulieu led to a fight (more on that later), and the Jackets finished with 32 hits on the night.
Unfortunately for the Jackets, physicality and faceoffs weren’t enough, and the Habs built on their best-in-the-East record.
Here are your game superlatives.
The Good: Nick Foligno
The Columbus Captain finally picked up his second goal of the season, his first since October 16th (against Toronto). The tally was a fun wraparound effort, and tied the game late in the 1st period. Foligno also made his physical presence known, particularly in a fight against Nathan Beaulieu. The bout was a Habs response to a Foligno hit, but it was the CBJ leader who answered the call best.
BAH GAWD NICK HE HAS A FAMILY #CBJ https://t.co/rDnpmLtEIq
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) December 2, 2015
The Not So Great: Special Teams and Finishing
Over the course of their 5-minute powerplay (the major after the Emelin hit), the CBJ looked lost, and didn’t generate much of anything. They finished with only 2 shots on their sole man-advantage, albeit one a bit split up due to period-ending intermission. In such a low-scoring affair, the lost chances (and lost time) on the major penalty loom large.
On the other side of the ice, Montreal finished 1-for-4 on the powerplay. It’s not a terrible outcome for the Jackets, to be sure, but the timeliness and ugliness of the final PK broke the tie late in the 3rd.
After Scott Hartnell’s ill-advised tripping minor, the CBJ were quickly undone by crisp passing and poor defense. American star Max Pacioretty finished his chance and ultimately the game.
Coach John Tortorella summarized his views on the Fox Sports Ohio post-game press conference: “We played well enough to win, and we found a way to lose.”
As for finishing? Even independent of the close score, Brandon Saad’s gonna want to burn the tape from this game.
Missed it by that much… #CBJ https://t.co/BcXCPbO1wV
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) December 2, 2015
Oof.
The Best Player: Mike Condon
The Habs netminder only allowed 1 goal on the night. That’s more than enough to win most nights, sure. The Princeton grad pulled it off under the pressure of the Carey Price news. The Hart-winning goalie is out for six weeks, and Condon was thrown right back into the fire. To make matters even harder? Montreal lost Emelin to game misconduct 17 minutes into the game.
To review: that’s playing in Price’s crease, and with only 5 d-men for most of the night? A .957 SV% is mighty, mighty impressive.
NHL action returns to Nationwide Friday against the Panthers, and the CBJ will hope to rebound from this close loss.
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