COLUMBUS, Ohio — Zach Werenski reached his boiling point late in the second period. Coach Dean Evason lost his cool when the Columbus Blue Jackets lost in overtime.
Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki emerged from a three-zone puck battle with the Blue Jackets’ Kent Johnson — that’s not exactly how Evason would describe it — before scoring off his own rebound when the puck went the other way.
It gave the Canadiens a 4-3 win only 44 seconds into overtime, the end of a messy, frustrating game before 15,485 in Nationwide Arena.
Werenski had the second Gordie Howe hat trick of his career — a first-period assist, a second-period fight with Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher, and a third-period goal that forced overtime — but the Blue Jackets couldn’t overcome a listless start.
The Blue Jackets had their modest three-game winning streak snapped, but extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1) for the second time this season.
That was little solace for Evason, though.
The pivotal play in overtime happened right in front of the Blue Jackets’ bench, and Evason could be seen raising his arm, incredulous that NHL officials Brian Pochmara (ahead of the play) and Mike Sullivan (behind it) swallowed their whistles.
Johnson had the puck and had a step on Suzuki as they left the Blue Jackets’ zone in the open ice of three-on-three, and he tried to skate away from Suzuki as they entered the neutral zone. Jackets veteran Sean Monahan joined the rush and was skating in open ice to Johnson’s left.
There was contact in the neutral zone, as Johnson tried to protect the puck and Suzuki tried to pry it free. Johnson spun out and tumbled to the ice as they entered the Canadiens’ zone.
“You mean at the end when they didn’t call the penalty, when the guy (Suzuki) grabbed (Johnson’s) hip and pulled him back and then that guy went down and scored?” Evason said. “It’s ridiculous! You know what? It’s a human game, and I’d hope that we’d have a couple of the refs (available) — or at least one of them — to ask them what they see?
“We have a two-on-one (with Johnson and Monahan). KJ is fresh. He’s fresh on the ice. He’s got a step on Suzuki. He’s going and he’s fast, and the guy reaches in, grabs him, pulls his hip, spins him, (Johnson) falls down, (the Canadiens) get the puck, they get a three-on-two (the other way) … it’s crazy.”
Montreal’s Lane Hutson grabbed the puck off Johnson’s stick and headed the other way with Suzuki as Johnson scrambled to his feet and tried to join the play. Hutson set up Suzuki in the high slot and he followed his initial shot to the rebound that beat Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
Evason wasn’t finished.
“That can’t be not a penalty,” Evason said. “It makes no sense. I don’t care if it’s the first penalty or overtime, you cannot reach your hand in and grab a guy. Even if they’re even, but (KJ) is ahead of him.
“The only reason they get even is because he gets yanked back. It makes no sense. I just don’t … I don’t understand it. The refs have been fantastic. Fantastic. But that was not a good play.”
The Blue Jackets also had goals from Mathieu Olivier and Yegor Chinakhov, while Merzlikins, who had won four straight starts, stopped 19 of 23 shots.
Werenski now leads the Blue Jackets with 22 points (7-15-22) in 21 games, but it was his second-period scrap with Gallagher that will be most remembered.
Replays showed Gallagher slam his stick forcibly between Werenski’s legs away from the play. Werenski responded with a couple of whacks with the stick before the gloves went flying.
“Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself,” Werenski said. “That was a chance for me to do just that. It’s part of the game. There was nothing to it other than we were battling for it. I didn’t want to take any shit from him.
“It doesn’t happen very often, but I’m definitely not afraid to do it. I think it’s good for our team to see that, too, to know that we’re all in this together and we all have each other’s back.”
It was Werenski’s third career fight, second in the regular season. He fought Detroit’s Dylan Larkin on Jan. 18, 2021. He also had a playoff fight with Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point on April 12, 2019, which was Game 2 of the Blue Jackets’ first-round playoff sweep that year over the Lightning. That, too, was a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Evason, no stranger to fighting during his playing days, liked what he saw from Werenski, who has drawn praise from his coaches and teammates for stepping forward as a leader this season.
“You get speared in the area you don’t want to get speared in, then you react like he reacted,” Evason said. “I was happy with the way he reacted.”
The Blue Jackets seemed to get a lift, too. The third period was their best period. Werenski scored on a low wrister through traffic at 12:22 of the third period to tie the score at three.
But the Blue Jackets should have been the more energized team, given they hadn’t played since Saturday. The Canadiens, who have won seven in a row against Columbus, had more jump early in the game despite playing at home on Tuesday and traveling late into the night to Columbus.
Sure, the game swung on the overtime call (or non-call). But you could argue it swung much earlier in the game than that.
“I don’t think we got to our forecheck tonight,” Werenski said. “We didn’t play our game. We weren’t bad, but we weren’t good, and that’s what happens in this league if you don’t play your game. Credit to them. That’s a tough back-to-back and they came in here and played hard. But I definitely thought we could have played better tonight.”
(Photo: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)
