COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Montreal Canadiens were the last team in the NHL to lose a game in regulation this season - and they did it in historic fashion Friday night.
And the Columbus Blue Jackets made a little history of their own.
Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Josh Anderson each scored two goals as Columbus swamped Montreal 10-0, matching the biggest loss in the Canadiens’ storied history and breaking the Blue Jackets’ franchise record.
Montreal lost by 10 goals for the fifth time and the first since an 11-1 loss to Detroit in February 1995. The Canadiens dropped to 9-1-1.
I don’t think you’re going forget one like that,” Montreal wing Brendan Gallagher said. “We got taught a lesson here tonight. We had it coming. Last game we were sloppy, we got away with it. Tonight we didn’t.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves, and Seth Jones and David Savard added goals to help the Blue Jackets improve to 5-3-1. Columbus eclipsed its previous record offensive output of eight goals in a game.
After surrendering 13 goals in 10 games before Friday, Montreal gave up eight to Columbus in the first two periods, half of them on power plays. Sixteen Columbus players picked up at least one point.
“There’s nothing positive about tonight - nothing,” Montreal coach Michel Therrien said.
The Blue Jackets banged away at Al Montoya, Montreal’s backup goalie who started in place in a Cary Price in the first game of a back-to-back set. On a power play with 9:04 left in the first, Foligno tapped it out from behind the net to Atkinson, who picked up his third goal of the season and later would get his fourth.
Seth Jones found the net just 58 seconds later from the left circle on a pass out from behind the goal line from Anderson to make it 2-0.
Savard scored for Columbus again with 5:54 left in the first - with a bit of luck. Savard was shooting inside to Matt Calvert, but the puck hit the skate of Montreal’s Jeff Petry and trickled through the legs of Montoya. The goal was Savard’s first of the season and Markus Nutivaara got an assist, his first NHL point.
Atkinson scored his second goal of the night 4:01 into the second period on a put-back after Gagner’s shot bounced off Montoya’s pads.
Foligno netted Columbus’ fifth off a pass from Zach Werenski 10:12 into the period, and Hartnell tapped in a loose puck from in front of the net a minute and 41 seconds later for the sixth score. Foligno scored the seventh in traffic 1:46 seconds after that.
Anderson scored the eighth from the slot just before the end of the second period. Hartnell and Anderson added the last two in the third period.
“You’ve been on the other side where everything is not going right,” Foligno said. “It just seemed to be the case tonight where we were just getting every bounce. But we were earning it too. I’m not going to take away from our game, either. We did a lot of good things. But I’ve never been up by 10 in my entire career.”
Montoya had 30 saves for Montreal.
The record output was no big deal to Columbus coach John Tortorella.
“All it is one tick in the win column and one tick in the loss column,” he said.
NOTES: Columbus’ Andrew Wennberg appeared to score off his skate in the second period but the goal was disallowed because officials ruled he deliberately kicked it. … The Blue Jackets killed a Montreal power play near the end of the period after Bobrovsky was called for tripping Montreal’s Andrew Shaw. Bobrovsky stayed in the net as Gagner served the two minutes in the box. … Columbus recalled Sonny Milano from Cleveland of the AHL for the second time season, but he was a healthy scratch. Dalton Prout and Scott Harrington also were healthy scratches for the Blue Jackets. … Joel Hanley and David Carr were brought up from St. John’s of the AHL but were healthy scratches for Montreal.
UP NEXT
Montreal: At Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Columbus: At St. Louis on Saturday night.
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