Montréal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets: game preview
MontréalCanadiens2026-27: 1-1-1 · 3 pts · 2025-26: 48-24-10 · 106 pts · 6that
ColumbusBlue Jackets2026-27: 1-1-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 40-30-12 · 92 pts · 17thFourteen points apart last season
Montréal finished last season 6th in the league on 106 points. Columbus finished 17th on 92.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 49
Across 48 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 24-18-6.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 17 Nov 2025, Montréal were 11th in the league and Columbus 17th. By 11 Apr 2026 it was 6th and 12th.
Columbus out-attempted Montréal 176 to 148
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Montréal Canadiens
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Montréal, 2 for Columbus. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Montréal, 10 for Columbus.
2025-26: 82 games for Montréal, 82 for Columbus.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Montréal
Small sampleColumbus
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Montréal crease
MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 9 Dec
No appearances against Columbus in the last meetings.
Columbus crease
CBJ · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 9 Dec
No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.6 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Montréal4.004.673.453.12
Columbus3.503.503.093.09Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
5 on the injury lists
Montréal · injuries
Columbus · injuries
No players listed.
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).
Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.
Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).
Placed LW Mikael Pyyhtia on waivers.
Placed D Ivan Provorov on injured reserve.
Assigned G Pheonix Copley to Cleveland (AHL).
Montréal · 2026 draft
See all: Montréal · 2026 draft →Columbus · 2026 draft
See all: Columbus · 2026 draft →Saturday 12 December · the full slate
See all: Saturday 12 December · the full slate →
NJDat
BOS1:00 PM ETMTLatCBJThis game3:30 PM ET
PITat
TBL3:30 PM ET
WPGat
MIN7:00 PM ET
ANAat
BUF7:00 PM ET
VGKat
TOR7:00 PM ET
EDMat
OTT7:00 PM ET
FLAat
DET7:00 PM ET
UTAat
CHI8:00 PM ET
STLat
DAL9:00 PM ET
WSHat
COL10:00 PM ET
VANat
LAK10:00 PM ET
NSHat
SEAUpdated after every final