In Montreal, the Columbus Blue Jackets scored four times in the opening frame, and Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves in 6-3 win over the Canadiens on Sunday. 
“[Canadiens] get the early one, but then from there, I thought we had a really good first period,” Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said. “Very strong, a lot of great forechecking and obviously we were finishing, which is great. So, it was good to see that we had a good start.”
Columbus improved to 20-21-1.
Patrik Laine hit for a p[air of goals for the Blue Jackets.
Artturi Lehkonen, Nick Suzuki, and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Canadiens.
“Losing’s not easy,” the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher said. “Obviously, expectations are different right now than they were coming into the season or any other season. It doesn’t change the fact that you want to win hockey games. It’s frustrating.
“You want to be able to leave the rink feeling good about yourself and when you’re losing you’re searching for solutions, and it’s not there. But we’re going to keep working, keep trying to find that environment. The one thing you can never lose is your culture. The minute losing feels normal or you’re numb to losing, you’re probably playing the wrong sport.”
Montreal dropped to 8-29-7.
After Laine opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets, Jack Roslovic, Eric Robinson and Yegor Chinakhov piled on for a 4-1 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
“They’ve had some tough luck with their goalies, so we just wanted to shoot as many pucks as we can,” Laine said.
After the Habs closed the scored to 4-3, Columbus rep-lied with a strike from Cole Sillinger for a 5-3 lead.
“I just saw an opening and that’s what we were kind of focusing on tonight, not passing up any opportunities,” Sillinger said.
Laine picked up his second goal of the game with an empty-net marker.
“I appreciate that,” Laine said. “I remember that, and I’ll try to return the favor one day.”
Sam Montembeault surrendered three goals in the first period, and was given the hook. He made four saves.
Cayden Primeau made 26 saves in relief.
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