CBJ@MTL: Game recap

MONTREAL -- The Canadiens suffered a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday night at the Bell Centre.

Head coach Dominique Ducharme welcomed a pair of veterans back into the lineup.
Brendan Gallagher returned from a lower-body injury, while Paul Byron made his season debut after recovering from offseason hip surgery.

It marked Byron's first game since July 7, 2021 when the Stanley Cup Final was decided in Tampa.

The Canadiens opened the scoring just 1:19 into the first period courtesy of Nick Suzuki, whose pass attempt deflected off Gustav Nyquist and past goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Suzuki's ninth goal of the year was assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Artturi Lehkonen.

That didn't get the Blue Jackets down, though, as they responded with four goals in a span of 9:23 before the frame was done.
Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic, Eric Robinson and Yegor Chinakhov found the back of the net.
Goaltender Sam Montembeault was replaced by Cayden Primeau after surrendering three goals on seven shots.
The Habs trailed 4-1 after 20 minutes.
Toffoli scored the lone goal in the second period, lighting the lamp with 41 seconds left before the break.
The Canadiens' sniper converted a perfect feed from Lehkonen for his ninth goal of the year.
Suzuki collected the secondary assist on the sequence.

Montreal trailed 4-2 heading into the final stanza.
The Canadiens continued battling back early in the third period.
At the 6:55 mark, Lehkonen converted a tape-to-tape feed from Jake Evans for his seventh goal of the season.
The tally came short-handed.

Just over three minutes later, though, Cole Sillinger restored Columbus' two-goal lead.
Laine capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 2:48 left in regulation.
That's the way this one finished.
The bye week now begins for the Habs.
Their next game is Tuesday, February 8 against the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre.