MTL@CBJ: Penalties kill in Columbus

COLUMBUS - First impressions count, but they don't count for everything.

The first impression the Canadiens left in this, the sixth and final game of their grueling 12-day road trip, was that they were going to put up a fight against a team trying to stay ahead in their tight battle for a playoff spot.
Just 34 seconds into the game, Brendan Gallagher scored his career-high 25th goal of the season and it looked like the Canadiens could come out of their long swing away from home with a .500 record.

But then, the Canadiens opened the door a crack or two by giving Columbus a couple of power play opportunities, and the Blue Jackets took their cannon and blew that door right off its hinges to take over the game.
Simply put, the Habs have struggled shorthanded on the road all season long, and it hurt them again tonight.
"The penalty kill has been good at home and has struggled on the road. Tonight, we could've used the kill early on. It's something we've talked about and tried to improve on, it's just not happening," explained Gallagher, who scored the game's first goal for a third time on the trip and the Habs' first goal for a fourth. "For us, when you're struggling on special teams, the best thing to do is not to overcomplicate it. Just simplify it, understand, do your job, trust that your teammates are going to do their own. At times right now, we're maybe overworking, and it's allowing seams and plays to open up."
Columbus had already tied the game by the time those two power play goals came around, so the Canadiens had handicapped themselves by offering them the golden advantage of defending a two-goal lead at home.
"Especially after a 12-day trip, when you're down 3-1 after the first period, that definitely brings the group down a bit," outlined Jonathan Drouin, who beat Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky with an adept breakaway dangle in the second to make it 4-2 after Boone Jenner had added a fourth for the hosts. "It wasn't our best game. We weren't skating and we weren't moving the puck like we had been doing on the trip."

The Habs tried to make up for things in the final frame, directing a whopping 24 shots at Bobrovsky, but the damage had already been done.
"They were just sitting back and waiting there. We were getting shots, getting traffic," added Drouin, who also enjoyed a solid night in the faceoff dot, winning six of the nine draws he took. "It would've been nice to get one, get the pressure on them. But I thought we played well in the third."
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren faced another difficult test for a young backstop trying to fill big shoes in Carey Price's absence, and though he wasn't able to deliver on this night, his teammates were adamant that he should not be ashamed of what he's brought to the table; quite the opposite.
"He has nothing to hang his head on. He played really well for us early on in the year when we needed him. Everyone has their games," Jeff Petry pointed out. "He's the last guy who should be discouraged after a game like that. We're all wanting the best out of ourselves. There are nights where the bounces aren't going your way, but there is nothing he should be hanging his head on."

The 24-year-old backstop was not hiding his frustration after the game, but at least, through the thick fog of adversity, he was able to recognize the challenge for what it was.
"That's frustrating. The fifth goal was unacceptable, especially at that time of the game, the way we we were pushing," he described. "Frustrating is a good word.
"Adversity is a good thing; it's how you respond to it," Lindgren concluded. "I expect to respond in the right way, in a positive way and become better because of it."