Canadiens at Blue Jackets
Two teams looking to halt two-game skids face off Wednesday as the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Montreal Canadiens. Columbus suffered a 5-2 loss at Toronto on Friday before beginning its three-game homestand with an identical defeat against the New York Islanders the following night. Defenseman Jack Johnson and All-Star Nick Foligno scored for the Blue Jackets, who were even after one period before allowing three goals in the second.
Montreal dropped one-goal decisions to Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh at home after completing a perfect five-game road trip. The Canadiens grabbed the lead against the Penguins on Saturday as Max Pacioretty scored late in the first period but yielded a late second-period tally before captain Sidney Crosby cashed in on a power-play opportunity in overtime. Montreal has not won six straight on the road since registering an eight-game run from Jan. 21-Feb. 21, 1982.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, RDS (Montreal), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (26-12-3): PA Parenteau may return to the lineup Wednesday after missing the previous three games with a concussion. The veteran right wing has recorded just six goals this season and has gone 14 contests without a tally since scoring on Nov. 28 at Buffalo. Half of Parenteau's goals have come on the power play, which ties him with defensemen Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban for the team lead.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (18-19-3): All-Star Ryan Johansen failed to score a goal Saturday for the first time in six contests but notched an assist to extend his point streak to a career high-tying 10 games. The 22-year-old has collected six tallies and six assists during the run. Defensemen Kevin Connauton and David Savard have accounted for Columbus' last four game-winning goals with two apiece and have three each on the season, tying the club record for a blue-liner set in 2011-12 by Nikita Nikitin.
OVERTIME
1. The Blue Jackets are 5-2-1 overall against the Canadiens since the start of the 2007-08 season and 2-0-1 in the last three meetings in Columbus.
2. Montreal is 1-for-21 on the power play over its last seven games.
3. Johansen also began the campaign with a 10-game point streak, tying the franchise record set by R.J. Umberger from Nov. 10-Dec. 1, 2010.