Harvey-Pinard gets 1st NHL hat trick, Canadiens top Blue Jackets

MONTREAL --Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored his first NHL hat trick, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 8-2 at Bell Centre on Saturday.

"[Harvey-Pinard] deserves everything he's gotten," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "He works incredibly hard. He's a very smart player, he's in the right places, he's having fun and he's enjoying the opportunity he has. So, it's really good to see."
Nick Suzuki had a goal and three assists, Mike Hoffman had a goal and two assists, Mike Matheson had three assists, and Sam Montembeault made 21 saves for Montreal (29-38-6), which won for the third time in 13 games (3-8-2).
"I feel like we're playing good hockey, [but] we just haven't been rewarded in the goal department," Suzuki said. "And that was nice to get that, and I think it gives a lot of guys confidence finishing this stretch here."

Lane Pederson and Kirill Marchenko scored for Columbus (23-42-7), which was coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Friday.
"The second period killed us," Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. "We didn't skate enough and we didn't manage the puck at all, and then we weren't reloading in the offensive zone."
Elvis Merzlikins, who was making his first start since March 7, allowed six goals on 24 shots before leaving at 17:02 of the second period with an undisclosed injury. Michael Hutchinson made six saves on eight shots in relief.

Pederson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 1:32 of the first period. An outlet pass by Joel Edmundson deflected off the stick of Kent Johnson to Jack Roslovic, who passed the puck back to Johnson, who then sent a cross-crease pass to Pederson for the goal.
Hoffman tied it 1-1 at 3:39, scoring glove side from the left circle after receiving a drop pass from Matheson.
Jesse Ylonen put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 at 9:43 when he scored blocker side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Marchenko tied it 2-2 at 18:00. The goal was initially waved off because the net had been dislodged, but a video review determined Montembeault caused the post to be displaced prior to the goal being scored.

Harvey-Pinard responded 13 seconds into the second period to give the Canadiens a 3-2 lead, knocking in a loose puck in the crease. He then extended it to 4-2 at 7:13 off a rush.
Gallagher pushed it to 5-2 at 13:08 when he scored from the slot after receiving a centering pass from below the goal line by Jake Evans.
Harvey-Pinard completed the hat trick to make it 6-2 at 16:42, deflecting a slap pass from Hoffman for a power-play goal.
"Honestly, it's tough to describe," said Harvey-Pinard, who was playing in his 33rd NHL game. "I had chills."
Harvey-Pinard is the first NHL rookie to score three goals in a period since Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild did it against the Arizona Coyotes on March 12, 2021.
"He's very engaged at both ends of the ice," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "It's rare that he doesn't do his job defensively and offensively. He's a young player who is very engaged and who reads the play well at both ends of the ice. It's not just where the puck is, but where his teammates are as well and where the opponent is going."
Alex Belzile extended it to 7-2 at 11:48 of the third period, finishing a give-and-go with Chris Tierney, and Suzuki scored at 13:49 for the 8-2 final.
"We had no push back and they took it to us," Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner said. "That's what's going to happen in this league."
NOTES: Harvey-Pinard is the fifth rookie in Canadiens history to score a hat trick in a single period and the first since Dick Gamble on March 2, 1952. … Suzuki extended his multipoint streak to four games (two goals, eight assists). … Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris had an assist and was plus-3 in 17:45 of ice time after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. … Columbus forward Mathieu Olivier (lower body) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) did not play after each sustained an injury on Friday. ... Larsen did not have an update on Merzlikins after the game.