Kirill Marchenko scored the decisive goal in a shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets edged the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, on Monday night.
Columbus held a 3-1 lead midway through the third period, but Montreal rallied with goals from Joel Anderson and Lane Hutson to force overtime. The Canadiens dominated the extra frame, outshooting the Blue Jackets 6-0, but Columbus goalie Jet Greaves made key stops in overtime and the shootout to secure the win.
The victory extends Columbus’ points streak to five games (3-0-2), while Montreal has now dropped four consecutive contests (0-3-1). Greaves finished with 29 saves on 32 shots and improved his record to 6-4-2. His standout moment came late in overtime when he denied Ivan Demidov with 22 seconds remaining.
Zach Werenski and Dmitri Voronkov each recorded a goal and an assist for Columbus, with Marchenko adding two assists. Adam Fantilli contributed the Blue Jackets’ other goal. Marchenko now has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in a 12-game point streak. If he records a point in Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, he would tie the franchise record for the longest point streak in Columbus history.
For Montreal, Hutson tallied a goal and an assist, while Anderson and Oliver Kapanen scored the team’s other goals. Goalie Jakub Dobes stopped 20 of 23 shots in the loss.
The Blue Jackets struck first, with Werenski converting a wrist shot 6:58 into the opening period. Montreal responded early in the second period as Kapanen tied the game at 4:47. Columbus regained the lead with Fantilli scoring five minutes later, followed by Voronkov’s power-play tip-in at 13:32.
Montreal’s late surge saw Anderson score at 8:28 of the third period, and Hutson tie the game with just 79 seconds remaining, firing a shot from the upper slot past a screened Greaves. Ultimately, Marchenko’s shootout finish sealed the win for the Blue Jackets.
