NHL scores 2016: Canadiens downward spiral continues with no end in sight

Have the Canadiens hit rock bottom now?

If a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games after falling from first place in the Atlantic Division to out of playoff contention completely hasn't done it, maybe this 5-2 loss against Columbus has.

Montreal has not won back-to-back games in over two months. They had the chance to against the Blue Jackets on Monday and looked poised to do so after P.K. Subban's tying goal from center ice halfway through the game. Instead, a third period goaltending and defensive meltdown met them in the final 20 minutes.

Three straight third period goals from the Blue Jackets helped cap off Cam Atkinson's third career hat trick and sunk the Canadiens for one of their most demoralizing losses yet this season. Even if the underlying analytics were trending their way for most of the game, a loss to the league's worst team in this way has made it more apparent that these Canadiens are not a playoff team.

That much is apparent on the team's first goal allowed to the Blue Jackets to Atkinson. A failed clear that becomes a defensive zone turnover ends in a disaster that sees every Montreal defender out of position as Atkinson pots the first goal.

Carey Price -- now another month from returning from an injury -- will not be able to save this team when he cracks the lineup again. Even if Price can put together a brilliant run that allows the Canadiens to sneak into the playoffs this season, they sure as hell wouldn't deserve to be there.

Detroit Red Wings 4, New York Islanders 2

Boston Bruins 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2

Columbus Blue Jackets 5, Montreal Canadiens 2

New York Rangers 6, Buffalo Sabres 3

Dallas Stars 2, Calgary Flames 1

Arizona Coyotes 2, Minnesota Wild 1 (SO)

1. Wayne Simmonds did his best to carry the Flyers to a win...

But ultimately he failed. Can't say Simmonds didn't try, however, as he scored both of Philadelphia's goals in the 3-2 loss to the Bruins at home. Simmonds led all Flyers with nine shots on goal, and his most pivotal moment came in scoring the tying goal with under eight minutes to play in the third. It was almost outdone by what looked to be a missed offside call, but the referees could not find enough evidence to overturn it. The Flyers did take their third straight loss after a crazy deflection goal from Brett Connolly in the final moments sealed the win for the Bruins, but Simmonds' efforts earned him the first star of the evening.

here's the Simmonds goal that counted despite being offside pic.twitter.com/jnCyGNtyUz

— Stephanie (@myregularface) January 26, 2016

2. Devan Dubnyk gifts Arizona a 2-1 shootout win

The Wild lost a one-goal game to the Coyotes that Minnesota rightly deserved to win. Their goaltender had other plans, however, as Dubnyk becomes the latest example as to why goaltenders should never EVER leave their nets to make plays. The mistake helped the Coyotes send the game into overtime with just over a minute left in the game, where Arizona eked out a shootout win in a game they had no business being in.

3. Rangers survive wild third period against the Sabres

Six goals were scored in the final 20 minutes of the Rangers and Sabres match, with five coming in just the first 10 minutes of the third period. New York ended up on the right side of it all after the Sabres tied the game 3-3 on two goals from Zemgus Girgensons 1:13 apart. You'll probably want to watch all the highlights on this one.

Impact Moment

Goalies across the league had bad nights, as P.K. Subban scored from center ice on Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo earlier in the evening. No real impact here, other than bringing attention to netminders' misdeeds. Shame on you, NHL goalies.

.@DetroitRedWings enter #NHLAllStar break with a 7-3-1 record in January, with all 7 wins earned on the road (7-1-0) pic.twitter.com/cnBoL6BJgG

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 26, 2016

• Aleksander Barkov broke his own six-year, $35.4 million contract extension by tweeting to Kevin Spacey.
• Cam Atkinson is the reason another family is going to adopt a dog after his hat trick against Montreal.