The Montreal Canadiens will look to escape the NHL’s basement when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
It will be the first of four games at home for the Canadiens, who are coming off a four-game trip in which they were outscored 17-11 while going 1-3-0. Seven of Montreal’s goals came in a 7-5 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
That victory snapped a six-game slide for the Canadiens, who followed with a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. The Canadiens are 3-9-2 since winning two of their first three games of the season.
“We’re not in the business of being happy with losses,” defenseman Mike Matheson said after the game against the Wild. “Teams that are high in the standings find a way to win.”
Montreal sits last in the NHL’s overall standings with 12 points through 17 games.
It’s been a struggle at both ends of the ice. The Canadiens have more than three goals only five times thus far, winning four of the games, and more than half of the team’s 46 goals have come largely from three players. Cole Caufield is tied for second-most goals in the league with 12, which leads the team. Brendan Gallagher is second with seven, while captain Nick Suzuk follows with six.
Suzuki enjoyed a four-point effort (two goals, two assists) against the Sabres, his only points over the past six games. Juraj Slafkovsky has scored once and not since Oct. 14, though his 10 assists are tied for second on the team behind Suzuki (11). Kirby Dach also remains stuck on a single tally, last scoring on Oct. 26, and has just two assists – both against Buffalo – in his past eight games.
“We had a good effort (against Minnesota), but at the same time, we have to convert on our chances,” Matheson said after the most recent loss.
Not helping matters is the puck going in at the other end. Montreal has allowed 70 goals, second-most in the NHL. Only the Pittsburgh Penguins (77) have given up more.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, head north of the border looking to build off a 6-2 win against the Penguins on Friday that snapped a six-game slide (0-5-1). The Blue Jackets have only 14 points in 16 games.
“Now we have that win,” said goalie Elvis Merzlikins, who played Friday, “we have that winning mentality back on and we have to keep going.”
Daniil Tarasov is expected to start in goal against the Canadiens. He will aim to pick up his first win since Oct. 22, when he backstopped Columbus to a 6-2 triumph against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s 0-2-1 in his three appearances since.
Before Friday’s offensive outburst against Pittsburgh, the Blue Jackets had just 11 goals in six games in November.
“The frustrating part on the whole is that we’re playing extremely well in a lot of areas, we’re outplaying teams in a lot of areas, and we’re not getting the results,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said before the game. “That’s a positive end of it, but we’re a results league. We’re not satisfied with where we’re at, and we don’t want to get into a position where we’re accepting losing.”
Forward Mathieu Olivier scored his first goal since Oct. 28 in Friday’s win, tying his career high with five goals on the season.
