NHL scores 2016: Montreal’s undefeated streak hit a Columbus wall and historically exploded

Montreal’s visit to Columbus was supposed to be the start of a sleepy NHL Friday night.

The Canadiens were the last undefeated (in regulation) team in the NHL. The Habs! The same team that was vilified and ridiculed all summer for trading P.K. Subban for Shea Weber. The same team that endured one of the worst seasons in franchise history last year and kept both the head coach and general manager on board.

Maybe we all thought too little of them. That truth could still hold.

But boy, was that balloon deflated on Friday. Montreal took its foot off the gas pedal in Columbus for a moment and got rear-ended into a ravine by an 18-wheeler hauling Civil War cannons. (Imagery!)

Down 3-0 after one period. Down 4-0 soon after. Carey Price sat in the shadows.

Down 8-0 after two periods.

Down 10-0 at the final horn.

A shutout with a deficit the size of a touchdown and a field goal. The stats and reactions to come out of the game were predictably priceless.

And so were the Habs, who refused to put in Price even as Al Montoya and his defenders looked more and more defeated as goals piled on. That the league’s last undefeated team lost in such a humiliating fashion is hard to fathom; that their coach let the slaughter go on for as long as he did is inexplicable.

The Canadiens will bounce back, certainly. If anything, the first month of the season has shown this team is more than just a Subban or Weber. Montreal has talent, and the additions of Alexander Radulov and Weber are paying big dividends early. They will recover, and they just might contend.

But a loss like this can linger. And when the going gets tough down the stretch, you wonder if that memory will evolve into doubt.

Columbus Blue Jackets 10, Montreal Canadiens 0

Winnipeg Jets 5, Detroit Red Wings 3

Anaheim Ducks 5, Arizona Coyotes 1

1. The Jets are figuring it out

Paul Maurice was ecstatic about his team’s win on Friday, as he had every right to be. Down 2-1 heading into the final frame, Winnipeg scored four goals (including three in the final seven minutes) to stun Detroit at home.

Once again, as they will all season, Winnipeg’s youth saved them. Mark Scheifele (23 years old), Patrik Laine (18) and Nikolaj Ehlers (20) all scored before Brandon Tanev (24) notched the first two goals of his career to win the game. Oh, and Connor Hellebuyck (23) earned the win with 30 saves.

The Jets will live and die with the young talent they’ve accumulated over the years. It sure seems they’re poised to do more of the former.

2. Hockey players save their first goals and first lost teeth

2. Cam Atkinson is picking up right where he left off

A sixth-round draft pick in 2008, Cam Atkinson has only gotten better the more the Blue Jackets have relied on him over the years.

After two straight 40-point campaigns, Atkinson finally reached new heights in a miserable 2015-16 Blue Jackets season with 27 goals and 53 points.

So far, Atkinson is thriving on the power play: His two tallies on Friday gave him four goals and three helpers on the man advantage this year. He hasn’t scored at even-strength yet, but that should come. Right now, Atkinson is emblematic of a youthful Columbus team playing well with nothing to prove this season.

Ryan Kesler tried to fight Max Domi. You might remember Max’s father.

I wonder how it turned out—

When the Canadiens backup had to answer to his overseer, Carey Price.

Small sample sizes are great because they produce things like this:

I can’t believe that worked.