The three-game sweep of the NHL starts in Columbus where the San Jose Sharks finished their road trip with a perfect 6-0-0 record.
“You think getting 10 out of 12 points would be great, but we wanted to make a focus of getting every point we can,” San Jose defenseman Brenden Dillon said.
It required a rally by the Sharks with the Blue Jackets leading 3-1 early in the third period.
Joe Pavelski scored twice in the third as the Sharks put up four unanswered goals to erase the deficit and stun the Jackets, 5-3.
“They found energy in third and we didn’t for some reason,” Columbus captain Nick Foligno said. “A 3-1 lead and we lost it. To me that’s unacceptable.
“We didn’t play our best game but we played well enough to win, especially when you get the third goal like that. That’s a big lead to have. You have to find a way to close it out. I’m sick of these. We’ve got find ways to ways to get points. I’m tired of the way we’re losing.”
Cam Atkinson‘s goal early the third gave the Blue Jackets a seemingly insurmountable lead, 3-1.
“We knew they had back-to-back games,” Atkinson said. “You have to take advantage of that. You could see they were tired. They were a little sluggish but we were sluggish as well.”
Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner also scored for the Jackets who fell to 8-14-0.
“We lose three faceoffs and they score three goals,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “We just did not win enough faceoffs.”
Alex Stalock had 28 saves for the win while Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves in taking the loss.
In Montreal, Carey Price made 21 saves in a 4-2 win for the Canadiens over the New York Islanders.
Alex Galchenyuk scored the game-winner in the third and Max Pacioretty added an empty-netter to seal the win.
“It’s nice to have that confidence knowing that late in the game when we’re tied and going on the power play, we have that confidence and that killer instinct,” Pacioretty said. “Everyone wants to be the difference and [Sunday] it was [Galchenyuk] and it was a great feeling to see that happen.”
Brendan Gallagher left the game after blocking a shot resulting in two broken fingers.
“Obviously he’s a big part of our team but we have to be resilient, and we have to carry on even if we’re going to be missing him for a while,” Montreal goalie Carey Price said. “We have a lot of depth on our team. He’s a leader on our team, we’re going to miss him, however long that’s going to be.”
The Isles fell to 10-8-3 with the loss.
“It’s really frustrating,” New York’s Anders Lee said. “We were right there, it’s a tie game with three and a half minutes left, and the next thing you know we lose by two. It’s really frustrating, especially how we played. We played a good road game and we had opportunities, and that’s what [stinks].”
Out west, Cory Schneider got his first win as a visitor in Vancouver as the New Jersey Devils beat the Canucks, 3-2.
“It still feels like a second home,” Schneider said. “It feels very natural to be back here, but at the same time it also feels good to win here and to beat them.”
Mike Cammalleri had a goal and three points in the win.
“It was important tonight we played to our identity and we were happy with our compete level and commitment and work ethic, regardless of the result,” Cammalleri said. “When you do that, you have a better chance of having a good result. We didn’t like it the first couple games of this road trip. … If this group doesn’t have that, we don’t have a chance.”
The Devils improved to 11-8-1 on the season.
Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves for the Canucks who fell to 8-8-6.
“It comes down to timely saves and timely goals,” Markstrom said. “Schneider made some great saves in the third and I let in some goals when I need to step up and make a save in the third to not go down two goals. That doesn’t feel too good right now.”
Henrik Sedin and Radim Vrbata scored for the Canucks.
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