Mar 26, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble (47) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at the Bell Centre. | Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
First period
Well it’s looking a lot like the start versus the Hurricanes two days ago, with the Blue Jackets winning every puck battle in Montreal’s zone to maintain constant pressure.
Jakub Dobeš has made four saves in the opening two minutes, although one of them was the result of a poor rebound he allowed.
Passes are also an impossible thing for them at the moment, also like the previous game.
Dobeš has become a third defenceman once again trying to break the forecheck versus his two blue-liners.
Out of nowhere, the Canadiens get a two-on-one with Zachary Bolduc setting up Josh Anderson, but Jet Greaves makes the save.
At Montreal’s end Adam Fantilli hits the post, then Juraj Slafkovský hauls down Kirill Marchenko after losing body positioning, and there will be an early chance on the power play for the Blue Jackets.
Montreal gets through the penalty kill, and begins to connect a few passes in the neutral zone for the first time.
The best shift for the Canadiens comes from the top line, and it uses the cycle to set up a dangerous look for Cole Caufield.
Jayden Struble set up Montreal’s first goal after they fell behind 2-0 on Tuesday, and now he opens the scoring versus the Blue Jackets. Lane Hutson drove deep into the zone to help the cycle and was able to sling it back to Zachary Bolduc. Bolduc walked into the slot looking for a shooting lane, but saw that Struble was a better option streaking down the left side, and the defenceman’s shot beat Greaves short-side.
Bolduc feeds Struble and it’s 1-0 Habs!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Hutson tries on his next shift to keep the offence going, but this time he leaves his point position with no support. Struble is forced to defend the two-on-one, and Boone Jenner completes the pass to Damon Severson, who ties the game.
Now it’s Noah Dobson’s turn to step up at the offensive blue line in a situation that should have had him retreating. On this two-on-one, Jenner winds up a big slapshot that Dobeš makes himself big on and has it go off his mask.
The Habs are having long sequences of lost puck battles in their zone. They can’t decide if they want to throw a hit and potentially take themselves out of the play or knock it away with their sticks, and they’re just half-heartedly swinging at the puck on an opponent’s stick. They don’t seem to have taken any of the lessons from last game versus Carolina on how to deal with the cycle.
Greaves leaves the puck behind the net and Slafkovský picks it up. He finds Caufield racing down the slot, but the sniper’s shot flutters over the target.
They followed up a game in which they were outshot 16-4 in the opening period by getting outshot 13-6 tonight. I suppose that’s a little bit better, but frustrating that it’s the exact same issues that plagued them a couple of days ago. At least they’re tied this time.
Second period
Montreal is better at breaking the pressure to begin the second period. No longer the long shifts spent in their own end.
No longer finding things so easy, the Blue Jackets may have overextended a little bit on a rush up the ice, and left Suzuki behind them. He had plenty of space to carry the puck into the zone, but wanted a pass rather than simple taking a shot from 20 feet out.
Miles Wood tries to snap Hutson in half over the boards at the Blue Jackets’ bench, and Jake Evans races over to his defence. Both Wood and Evans go to the box.
The four-on-four should have been to Montreal’s advantage, but the Blue Jackets just hogged the possession for two minutes.
Dobson is taking too long to make his passes, and the Blue Jackets are forcing him into a bad one by closing on him when he hesitates.
A tipped shot goes off Greaves’s crossbar as the Habs come close to taking the lead. It won’t count as a shot, but Montreal is leading that category 6-2 through 12 minutes of the second period.
Josh Anderson decides to race down the ice for a breakaway before the Canadiens had secured the puck, and it ended up going to the spot he just vacated, allowing the Blue Jackets to have their first extended shift in the offensive zone. He ends on a positive, however, with a drawn penalty as he provides more help on the wall and has his stick knocked away as he attempts to carry the puck out.
The puck comes to Demidov at the side of the net with Greaves out of position, but Demidov can’t get it out of his feet for a proper shot.
Suzuki gains the zone, and the puck goes from him to Slafkovský to Demidov to Caufield in about a second-and-a-half for a prime scoring chance at the side of the net.
A dangerous-looking power play, but it didn’t change the score.
Sensing their chance to score, the Canadiens push at five-on-five, but that allows a breakaway for Mason Marchment when Kaiden Guhle completely whiffs on a shot. Dobeš makes the critical stop.
A difficult shift for the pairing of Matheson and Dobson and the second line results in a late icing and one last flurry from the Blue Jackets.
Outside of a couple of poor shifts it was a much better period for Montreal, allowing just six shots and getting eight of their own. They’re now very much in this game with 20 minutes to play and not just hanging on.
Third period
The Habs have suddenly lost the ability to make a pass to get out of their zone. That has almost disappeared in the middle frame.
They get an exit — a high-danger one from Matheson as it stickhandles around two forecheckers — and Jake Evans gets the puck in the offensive zone. He connect with Bolduc on the opposite side of the zone, and it’s another short-side shot while attacking with speed that solves Greaves.
Mike Matheson works the puck out, and Bolduc finishes the play at the other end
2-1 Habs!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 10:05 PM
During the first commercial break of the period, the wave begins at the Bell Centre.
Columbus can only clear the puck down the ice and hope that the Habs settle down a bit now. They seem more worried about the score becoming 3-1 than getting it to 2-2.
It might be a perfectly fine strategy for them, because the Canadiens are about to fall into their shell to defend a late lead.
Bolduc barges through Severson to get to the puck and keep the play alive in the offensive zone. Severson was hurt on the play, and skates to the dressing room after the whistle.
Jenner misses the pass meant for him at the side of the net, but decides to continue on and bowl Dobeš over. If ever there was a time for the power play to come through, it’s right now, with just over five minutes to play.
They try three cross-ice one-timers, and one finally comes to Suzuki from Demidov, but Greaves makes the stop.
St-Louis has used him timeout to allow his top unit to stay on. At minimum, they did a great job of making offence the furthest thing from Columbus’s mind in the opening 60 seconds.
Caufield has two chances from the slot in the dying second of the power play, but Greaves takes the last one right off his stick blade with the glove.
A couple of big saves as the Blue Jackets push with Greaves still in the net.
The goalie leaves with just over a minute to go.
The crowd hushes as the puck falls to Mason Marchment with an empty net, expecting the tying goal. But a last-ditch stick-check from Evans forces him to send the puck wide.
Montreal ices the puck with eight seconds to go, and is one faceoff win away from an impressive victory.
They get the win, force the puck to stay behind the goal line, and hold the Blue Jackets pointless for a rare time in Rick Bowness’s tenure.
Home ice has been kind of the Canadiens recently, but they’re now heading out on the road for five games. There are some big games on the schedule that will have a big impact on where the Habs ultimately end up. It begins on Saturday in Nashville versus the much-improved Predators.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) A good night from Zachary Bolduc will do have suffice as a present
2) As long as they don’t start to think that’s the way to win
1) No way only 13 people answered “vent”
