Mathieu Garon stands tall for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens
The hockey experts often say that goaltending is often the difference between winning and losing in many games. Good goaltending pays dividends in the long run, and that’s what happened
as the Columbus Blue Jackets cruised to a 3-0 shutout win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
How it happened
The Blue Jackets held all of the momentum in this game, and never let go of it. They opened the scoring in the first period with a wrist shot from captain Rick Nash that beat Habs’ goaltender
Carey Price at 12:34 of the first period. Jakub Voracek earned his first of two assists on Nash’s goal. Voracek got his second assist of the game on Derick Brassard’s power play goal at 13:57. Defenceman Anton Stralman picked up the other assist.
After a scoreless second period, rookie Kyle Wilson scored the home team’s third tally at 6:22 of the third period. Jared Boll earned his first assist of the season on Wilson’s backhander,
while Derek MacKenzie earned the second assist.
Despite having numerous scoring chances at various points during the game, the Habs failed to put any pucks past Garon, who stopped all 29 of their shots, earning his 17th career shutout
in the process. Price allowed three goals on 24 shots, and made some big saves for Montreal, who lost their second straight game.
What they’re saying
Jackets head coach Scott Arniel always has two goalies at his disposal, and he has confidence in both of them. Both Garon and 2009 Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason have been doing well
lately, and the Blue Jackets have a winning record to show for it.
“Matty was outstanding and he deserves opportunities to play,” Arniel said of Garon’s play. “He’s been good from training camp all the way through to tonight. I have a lot of confidence
in both goaltenders. We have a 1-A and 1-B.”
Garon was happy to earn a win over the team that drafted him in 1996. He holds an 8-0-4 record in home games since he joined the Blue Jackets via free agency in 2009.
“I’ve been maybe a little lucky,” said Garon. “When I’ve played, we haven’t played a bad game this season. It feels good. We have to win at home. If we want to be in the top eight teams
(making the playoffs), we have to be dominant here at home.”
Habs head coach Jacques Martin said that the Habs will need to regroup after the loss, and a review of their lines will occur.
“We’ve got some lines that are creating some opportunities and other lines are not,” Martin said. “We’ll look at the video and analyze and see what we can bring as far as a solution for
the next game.”
Columbus returns to action on Thursday, 4 November against the Atlanta Thrashers, while Montreal will visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, 5 November.
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