Canadiens pull away from Blue Jackets

MONTREAL -- Mike Matheson had a goal and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens scored three straight goals in the third period to pull away for a 5-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson also scored, and Joel Armia and Cole Caufield each had two assists for the Canadiens (6-10-2), who have won two of three after losing six in a row. Sam Montembeault made 25 saves.

“I think we kept things simple and we put more pucks on the net,” Matheson said. “I know it’s a bit of a cliche to say that, but it works too.”

Dante Fabbro scored for the Blue Jackets (6-9-2), who have lost seven of their past eight (1-6-1). Daniil Tarasov made 25 saves.

“We just didn’t stay with the game plan and kind of went rogue a little bit,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “And they capitalized on a few mistakes and the game was over.”

Matheson gave Montreal a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:59 of the first period. He one-timed a pass from Caufield and drove a slap shot past Tarasov stick side from the top of the slot for his first goal of the season.

“His shot’s really good,” Suzuki said. “We’re trying to find him in spots to shoot it. I think that will give him a lot of confidence moving forward to keep shooting.”

Fabbro tied it 1-1 at 7:40 of the second period on a low slap shot from the point past Montembeault’s left pad. It was his first goal in three games for Columbus since he was claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Sunday.

Suzuki put the Canadiens up 2-1 at 15:49 with a wrist shot under Tarasov’s glove as he cut across the top of the slot after taking a pass from Armia.

“I thought we were hard to play against for most of the game, minus probably the first nine minutes of the second period,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We were hard on the forecheck.”

Lucas Condotta made it 3-1 at 11:04 of the third period when he snapped a one-timer from the inside edge of the left face-off circle on a pass from Armia. It was his first goal in five games since he was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Nov. 6.

Jake Evans pushed it to 4-1 at 12:52, scoring off Caufield’s pass from the left side for his 100th NHL point.

“We lost our game a little in the second period, for sure, but overall we were much more solid of not giving them too much,” Matheson said. “We knew that they played last night, and I feel like we had our legs, so we were able to take advantage of that.”

Anderson scored a power-play goal at 15:55 for the 5-1 final when Matheson’s slap shot from the point deflected in off him.

“Coming through the neutral zone, I think costly turnovers at blue lines is dangerous in this league,” Fabbro said. “When you look at the top teams, the best thing that they do is manage the puck through the neutral zone and get things in. So, I think if we just can clean up a couple of areas we’re going to put ourselves in good positions every night to win games.”

NOTES: Fabbro’s goal was his first in nine games this season, and first since March 30 of last season when he scored for Nashville in a 7-4 loss at the Colorado Avalanche. … Montreal has won six straight games against the Blue Jackets. … Suzuki has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 13 games against Columbus. … Canadiens defenseman David Savard did not play because of an upper-body injury.