After the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on March 26 in Montreal, a fortunate triumph gift-wrapped by the Ohioans, Mason Marchment could’ve hunted down the puck that had forsaken him with 36 seconds remaining.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets stung by Montreal Canadiens: Replay
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Nobody would’ve batted an eye had he grabbed it, held it aloft and demanded to know if that puck felt too good for its home, “Happy Gilmore” style, when his flubbed shot from the Canadiens’ crease slid wide of the right post rather than sending the game to overtime.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) celebrates the win against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate forward Zack Bolduc (76) at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) celebrates the win against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate forward Zack Bolduc (76) at the Bell Centre.
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Referee Graham Skilliter (24) calls a goalie interference penalty on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner (38) after he collided with Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the third period at the Bell Centre.
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Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson (48) squares off with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner (38) after Jenner collided with Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the third period at the Bell Centre.
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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner (38) collides with Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the third period at the Bell Centre.
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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko (86) plays the puck and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle (21) defends during the third period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) talks to referee Jake Brenk (26) during the first period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) plays the puck during the first period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner (38) plays the puck during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble (47) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at the Bell Centre.
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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger (4) plays the puck in the corner while Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans (71) defends during the first period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (78) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier (24) plays the puck and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle (21) defends during the first period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) plays the puck and Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov (93) forechecks during the second period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (13) plays the puck during the second period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves (73) plays the puck and Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson (17) pressures during the second period at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves (73) plays the puck during the second period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
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Blue Jackets battle Montreal
Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans (71) shoots the puck during the second period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.
It was like watching Happy, played by Adam Sandler years ago, flub a two-foot putt after being told to simply send the ball home to the hole, its natural environment.
Like that ball, Marchment’s puck already had its plane tickets. Its bags were packed and Adam Fantilli had driven it to the airport with a wrist shot that leaked through Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes. All it needed was a little tap from Marchment to find its home, but it was too good for that outcome.
No points for the Blue Jackets (38-23-11), who dropped to third place in the Metropolitan Division despite a dominant performance. They’re back on the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left, while the Pittsburgh Penguins reclaimed second in the Metro with an overtime win over the Ottawa Senators, who dropped out of the playoffs by a point.
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The New York Islanders, meanwhile, eked by the Dallas Stars to reclaim the East’s second wild card and pull even with the Blue Jackets at 87 points. It was an ugly night for the Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger (4) plays the puck in the corner while Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans (71) defends during the first period at the Bell Centre.
To be clear, Marchment’s flub wasn’t the lone reason the Jackets bafflingly lost a game they owned outside of actual goals scored. Dobes also stopped him on a breakaway earlier, but this galling defeat was a full team effort. The flub just fittingly capped it.
The Canadiens (40-21-10) stole two points they didn’t deserve after finishing with large disadvantages across the board. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Jackets left Bell Centre after creating large margins in even-strength attempts (60-33), unblocked attempts (43-24), shots (25-16), scoring chances (33-12), high-danger scoring chances (15-2) and expected goals (3.18-1.02).
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Despite those edges, they scored one goal against a young goalie with a middling .896 save percentage.
And if you think that stings now, just wait to see how it feels if the Blue Jackets fall just short of the playoffs again. It will be nightmarish. Along with throwing away too many points by coughing up late leads, which cost former coach Dean Evason his job, this team’s perplexing, season-long struggle to finish scoring chances could become their undoing.
It’s time for them to find their happy place, so to speak, so they can send more pucks to their natural environment and avoid another April arrival for golf season.
Here are two more takeaways:
Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) celebrates the win against the Columbus Blue Jackets with teammate forward Zack Bolduc (76) at the Bell Centre.
Columbus Blue Jackets made another average goalie look spectacular
Two games ago, the Jackets also outplayed the New York Islanders on the road and lost 1-0 at UBS Arena.
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At least they faced one of the NHL’s elite goalies in that one, watching Ilya Sorokin increase his NHL leading shutout total to seven. This wasn’t the same deal.
Dobes, a former Ohio State goalie, was on a hot streak after allowing two-or-fewer goals in four of six previous starts, but he’s an average NHL goalie. Aside from a couple outstanding stops, including one to deny Marchment on his breakaway, the Blue Jackets made Dobes look like the second coming of former Canadiens’ star goalie Carey Price.
They’ve done it too much this season, controlling play while coming up short against the likes of Joseph Woll (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brandon Bussi (Carolina Hurricanes rookie), Carter Hart (Vegas Golden Knight), Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild) and even former Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo (Boston Bruins).
Each time, the Blue Jackets say a variation of the same thing. They played the “right way,” and if they continue playing that way, they’ll eventually score enough to win games. While that has happened, the Jackets have also frittered away too many valuable points while out-hustling, out-skating, outworking and overwhelming teams they dominate.
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That must change.
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) and center Kent Johnson (91) defend Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel (6) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 4, 2026.
Needing just one goal to force overtime, Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness couldn’t send either Kent Johnson or Dmitri Voronkov into the game. Both were healthy scratches, which is less than ideal for a team struggling to score goals.
Johnson has shockingly regressed since playing like a developing Mitch Marner a year ago, while Voronkov has lost Bowness’ trust after being scratched for the seventh straight game and 10th time in 11 games. Each has now played their way out of full-time roles for two veteran NHL head coaches this season, and it can’t continue if the Blue Jackets want to qualify for the playoffs.
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They need Johnson’s skilled playmaking along with Voronkov’s size and sneaky hands to create plays, screen goalies, tip shots and score off rebounds. Neither player is speedy, especially Voronkov, but each has untapped scoring potential.
Bowness is more comfortable playing Danton Heinen and Miles Wood, who are faster and play with more physicality, but they struggle to create offense and score goals. It’s a conundrum to sort out, because it does no good for the Blue Jackets to dictate play like they did in Montreal and lose 2-1 while two scoring options watched as healthy scratches.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets can’t convert vs Montreal Canadiens: Takeaways