Double Digits

When a team enters play without having lost in regulation time against a team that is hovering around the .500 mark after a month of play in the NHL, your money is most likely on the undefeated team. I say "likely" simply because there will be some die-hard fans of the .500 club that will back their team without blinking an eye. Friday night's game between Montreal and Columbus could have been profitable if someone had bet that Columbus would win by a converted touchdown or more. Yes, you read that correctly.

Al Montoya, playing in place of Carey Price who was given the night off, was absolutely beat to hell to the Blue Jackets. I'm not going to say much else as the video will do the talking, but Columbus scores from just about every angle. I think Cam Atkinson might have scored a goal from the concessions stand.

Columbus hung a ten-spot on the Habs and Al Montoya while Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the shutout. Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, and Josh Anderson each scored two goals in the victory, and sixteen different players recorded a point. It's only the fifth time in Canadiens history they've lost by ten goals, and it was the first since an 11-1 loss to Detroit in February of 1995. Montoya still made 30 saves for the Canadiens which goes to show how poorly they played and how well Columbus played.

Just for fun, the Blue Jackets didn't score until the game was already nine minutes old. The Blue Jackets had scored eight goals three times in their history - the last coming in November of 2010 - so they set a new franchise record for goals in a game. The last time there was a 10-0 beatdown in the NHL was January of 1996 when Calgary Flames destroyed Tampa Bay by the same score. In the 100-year history of the NHL, there have only been 34 games where a team won by ten or more goals while shutting out the opposition.

There has been a ton of noise from Canadiens fans who want to see head coach Michel Therrien removed from his position with the club, and it was almost like his club sent a message on November 4. That date is Therrien's birthday, and the 10-0 hammering didn't have the coach in a very festive mood following the game.

"There's nothing positive about tonight - nothing," Therrien told reporters. I'm guessing he may have been a little upset that there wasn't cake and ice cream waiting in the dressing room following the game.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!