The skinny: Max Pacioretty scored two first-period goals and goaltender Carey Price made 31 saves as the Canadiens held on to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 Saturday at the Bell Centre. With the win, the Canadiens continue to lead both the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division with 81 points.
A matter of streaks: The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Canadiens. Individually, Pacioretty ran his consecutive-game points streak to four games with four goals and two assists in that stretch. David Desharnais has assists in each of the past four games.
Power to the Max: Pacioretty staked the Canadiens to a 2-0 lead with a pair of first-period goals from the right side. The first came on a power play at 2:29 with Andrei Markov finding him alone in the faceoff circle. Pacioretty beat Curtis McElhinney with a shot to the far post. Pacioretty was in the same general area when he took a cross-ice pass from Nathan Beaulieu and scored his 29th of the season at 13:03. Beaulieu made a heads-up play as he faked a shot from the point, stepped around a defender and pinched in to find Pacioretty.
Gallery: Canadiens vs. Blue Jackets
The Montreal Canadiens beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the Bell Centre on Feb. 21, 2015 in Montreal.
Follow the bouncing puck: The Blue Jackets got one back at 14:05 of the first period when Nick Foligno was credited with his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. Artem Anisimov got a step on Markov and went strong to the net. His shot was caught between Price’s skates and Foligno reached in and pushed the puck across the goal line.
Second-period slump: The Canadiens fell into a bad habit in the second period as they sat back and let the Blue Jackets dominate play. Columbus outshot Montreal 12-5. Neither team was able to score but Cam Atkinson gave came close when he put a shot off two posts seconds before the period ended. Columbus also had a 10-6 edge in the third period but Tomas Plekanec sealed the win with a shorthanded empty-net goal at 19:15. The Blue Jackets outshot the Canadiens 32-24 overall.
Them’s fightin’ words: Jarred Tinordi came to the defence of Christian Thomas and fought Jared Boll late in the first period. Thomas, who was bounced around all night, took matters into his own hands in the third period when he took on Matt Calvert. Thomas held his own but came away with a bloodied nose. It was his first NHL fight and he has fought once in the AHL.
Injury update: Alex Galchenyuk missed a second consecutive game with the flu. There was some good news earlier in the day as P.A. Parenteau (concussion) received the green light to resume practicing and Sergei Gonchar (upper-body injury) was also back on the ice.
What’s next: The Canadiens hit the road for games Tuesday in St. Louis followed by a rematch against the Blue Jackets Thursday in Columbus. They return to the Bell Centre next Saturday to face the Toronto Maple Leafs before leaving for a four-game swing through the western U.S.
phickey@montrealgazette.com
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