In sport, a single loss can change everything.
On 14 March, after a 2-1 loss to the Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens playoff hopes hit a snag, and as the team followed up with a 2-0 loss on home ice to the Blackhawks two nights later, the feeling was that the team should look forward to next season. However, following that defeat to Chicago, the Habs reeled off four wins from their last five (the lone loss was an overtime loss to Carolina), and dreams of spring time hockey in Montreal were back on. Yet, those hopes careened off track once again after the Habs lost a pivotal game in Columbus to the Blue Jackets on Thursday night, 6-2.
It was a hotly anticipated game for much of the week, as the Canadiens held a two point lead on the Jackets, but the Jackets held a game in hand. “Win and you’re nearly in!” was the rallying cry heard amongst Canadiens fans.
Playing on the road amidst an ebullient playoff atmosphere is always difficult, but the Canadiens came out as perfect as a road team can. A Brett Kulak point shot found the back of the net within the first two minutes of the game, and the Canadiens poured on seven shots on Blue Jackets’s netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky, in the first 10 minutes of the game, before Columbus even mustered one of their own. This feat was so ignominious that the Columbus fans let out an indignant mock cheer as Carey Price steered the first shot into the corner. From that point onward, the Blue Jackets demonstrated their quality, capitalized on several defensive lapses by the Canadiens, and roundly demoralized their opponents for the night, and perhaps beyond.
The first Columbus goal from David Savard early in the second period resulted from an unfortunate Andrew Shaw fall near his bench, leading to a confused and delayed line change, leaving the Canadiens bereft of defenders as the Blue Jackets stormed up the ice on an odd man rush.
While the teams briefly played 4 on 4 hockey, Jeff Petry gave the Canadiens a surprising 2-1 lead after his intended pass fooled and eluded Bobrovsky. Whatever relief that goal gave the Canadiens was short lived, as Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped a Seth Jones point shot past Carey Price to bring the teams level. The Jackets then took the lead for good, after Matt Duchene made a deft, single fluid movement spinorama/pass to Artemi Panarin, who connected on a one timer to beat Price. It was a play that seemed to fool normally reliable defenders in Phil Danault and Shea Weber, and completely took the gas out of the Canadiens for the rest of the evening.
The Canadiens once again came out flat for the third period, and an errant pass from Victor Mete to Jesperi Kotkaniemi allowed Riley Nash to dash up the ice, handcuff Price, and give the Blue Jackets a two goal lead. From there, Bjorkstrand’s second made it 5-2, and Brandon Dubinsky added an empty netter to add insult to injury.
Unlike the previous five games, in which the Canadiens played with pace, an attacking verve and an unflappable Carey Price, the team that showed up for this important game was relatively flaccid and impotent. The Blue Jackets dominated puck possession, and the Canadiens seemed to be drained of energy.
A couple of Canadiens’ players did show some bite, notably Max Domi, who took a high stick from Columbus’s Boone Jenner, which did not garner the attention of the officials and went uncalled. Domi, an effervescent ball of energy, seemed to be wasteful in his energy use, as he tried to goad Jenner, and later Seth Jones into unnecessary extra-curriculars. Andrew Shaw, also appeared to needlessly expend energy, with an unintended (or intended, if you listen to the throng of aggrieved Columbus fans on Twitter) forearm shiver to the head of Columbus defender Adam McQuaid. The already woeful Canadiens powerplay was just getting started when Shaw took that penalty, negating whatever meagre lift the powerplay could have provided. Columbus coach, John Tortorella would later contend that the play was suspension worthy, though that remains a matter of debate, dependent on which club the viewer supports.
In the end, the Blue Jackets capture two points and move ahead of the Canadiens based on the ROW (regulation and overtime win) tiebreaker, as both clubs have 90 points. This places Columbus as the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Canadiens are on the outside looking in. Though both clubs are tied on points, this game may have proved fatal for Montreal, as Columbus has a game in hand with five games remaining, while the Canadiens final four games of the year are at Winnipeg, at home against Tampa Bay, away to Washington and a final home game to Toronto. This is indeed a murderer’s row of opponents.
The last four games will be a gauntlet, which is one matter. The other matter of course is that the Canadiens went from controlling their own destiny to losing all of that in a single night.
Such is the cruelty of sport.
Jaideep Kanungo
Jaikan Sport 