PREVIEW: Columbus completes back-to-back in Montreal

BLUE JACKETS (33-22-3) at CANADIENS (31-21-7)Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Centre Bell, Montreal (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, 97.1 The Fan)
As Woody Hayes was noted for saying, "Nothing cleanses the soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
That didn't happen to Woody very often in his 28 years at Ohio State, but not even Hayes ever had the opportunity that awaits the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Twenty-four hours after being on the wrong end of a 5-1 setback against visiting Tampa Bay, the Blue Jackets get a chance to get back at it Tuesday night in a battle of playoff bubble teams at Montreal.
There's little time to lick the wounds, but that might be a good thing. Columbus can atone for the setback right away, and the Jackets will find out in Quebec how much of the soul was cleansed vs. the Lightning.

"We're looking forward to going up to Montreal," alternate captain Boone Jenner said after the game. "It's going to be a big game tomorrow night. We have to move past this."
Just how big is it? One could call it a four-point game as Montreal enters in the final wild card spot with 69 points. Columbus, meanwhile, occupies the third spot in the Metropolitan Division with the same number of points, a perch it holds thanks to a tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ninth-place Carolina is just a point back. The Penguins and Hurricanes also play Tuesday, with Pittsburgh at New Jersey and Carolina hosting the Rangers.
So with a loss, Columbus could find itself on the wrong side of the playoff bar for the first time in quite a while -- though with more than 20 games left and a trade deadline to go, it's a bit too early to be too enthralled with scoreboard watching.
Still, it's an important game, especially as the Jackets try to avoid losing three of four in a key stretch. Signs point to the team not being too overwhelmed by the reality of the task at hand, as Columbus has posted a 16-7-1 record this season when coming off a loss.
"That's what you have to do," Lukas Sedlak said. "We have done a decent job doing that throughout the season. We have to have a good effort tomorrow, and we need two points."
Know The Foe
Montreal is leaking a bit of oil coming into this one, with the team posting an 0-3-1 record in its last four games including three straight without a point. That leaves the Habs out of the two three in the Atlantic Division and battling for one of the two wild card spots; currently, the team is in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
When it comes to goals, the team is scoring and allowing exactly 2.95 per game, which puts the Canadiens 17th in scoring offense and 13th in scoring defense. The team has a positive goal differential at 5-on-5, but special teams have been a concern, with the power play second from bottom (12.9 percent) and the penalty kill at 79.4 percent.
When it comes to shrewd trade acquisitions over the past few years, Max Domi continues the lead the way offensively with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) while Jonathan Drouin has a 17-29-46 line. Tomas Tatar has also been impressive, posting 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points, while Phillip Danault has been great in all roles, posting a 11-29-40 line and plus-15 rating. Brendan Gallagher leads the team in goal scoring with 23 tallies.
Defensively, Jeff Petry has put together another solid year, scoring 10 goals with 28 assists, and Shea Weber is plus-13. Carey Price is turning in a Carey Price vintage season, going 23-16-5 with a 2.58 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.
3 Keys
Win special teams: This is always true on the road, and especially true against a Montreal team that has struggled on the power play and the penalty kill. Columbus, meanwhile, has given up a power-play goal in two straight games after ceding just one in the first 17 games of 2019.
Finish chances: Columbus was the better team for large stretches of the first meeting this year between the teams but scored only one goal. After a game in which the Jackets had trouble beating Andrei Vasilevskiy, getting the puck in the net early could be key.
Back-to-back smarts: Columbus enters 3-4-2 in the second half of back-to-backs this season. Managing energy in the time before the game will be key, and the team is not having a morning skate.
Of Note
Defenseman Mike Reilly, a Blue Jackets draft pick who never signed with the team, has three goals and seven assists in 52 games, while former CBJ forward Michael Chaput has a 0-5-5 line in 32 games but was sent to Laval (AHL) last week. … In the first meeting between the teams this year, Montreal beat Columbus by a 4-1 score thanks in part to two empty-net goals Jan. 18 in Nationwide Arena. … Columbus has won 18 of 28 road games thus far, a franchise record to this point in the season. … Columbus is 6-2-1 in the past nine meetings (outscoring Montreal 31-16), including 2-1-1 in the last four road games. … Columbus has gone four straight games without a power-play goal (0-for-9).
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno - Boone Jenner - Josh Anderson
Eric Robinson - Alex Wennberg - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Riley Nash - Brandon Dubinsky - Lukas Sedlak
Seth Jones - Zach Werenski
Markus Nutivaara - David Savard
Scott Harrington - Dean Kukan
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Subject to change
Scratched: Ryan Murray (injury), Anthony Duclair, Adam Clendening
Roster Notes: Murray suffered an upper-body injury against Tampa Bay and did not travel with the team. … Hannikainen also stayed back in Columbus and is now on injured reserve. ... The Blue Jackets also activated Dubinsky from IR on Tuesday and called up defenseman Clendening, while Kole Sherwood was sent down to Cleveland.
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