MONTREAL — P.K. Subban blamed himself for Tuesday night’s loss against Columbus.
Subban made two giveaways that led to goals, including the winner, as the Blue Jackets beat the slumping Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in the second game of a home-and-home series.
"I gave them two goals, basically two points tonight," said Subban. "Tonight we had an opportunity to win the game, and I gave them two goals, literally. There’s no other way to describe it. I have to be better than that.
"I don’t think I make those plays very often, but tonight it cost our team."
Down 2-1 in the second, Subban got caught behind his own net and was pushed off the puck by Brandon Dubinsky. Seconds later, Dubinsky fired home his 11th of the year past goalie Ben Scrivens.
Dubinsky intercepted Subban’s soft clearance in the neutral zone late in the third before sending Cam Atkinson on a partial breakaway. Atkinson sealed it for Columbus with a five-hole goal on Scrivens, who is still winless in a Canadiens uniform.
The loss dropped the Canadiens to 1-6-1 in their last eight games.
The home crowd booed Montreal (24-22-4) many times during the encounter. Subban, who has three goals and 10 assists in his last 13 games, was not spared from their jeers.
"Well, I deserved a couple of boos," said the Canadiens defenceman. "They should have booed louder to be honest with you. I didn’t play well. I’d probably boo too if I was sitting up there watching me do what I was doing tonight.
"I’m understanding when they boo. I understand when you make those types of mistakes that cost your team, they want to see a win."
The Habs are now 2-8-0 in their last 10 home games. Montreal, which fell to 11th in the Eastern Conference, has not won in regulation time in its last eight games, dating back to Jan. 6.
Boone Jenner, Scott Hartnell and Brandon Saad, in an empty net, also scored for the Blue Jackets (19-27-5). Rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 28-of-30 shots for his fifth win of the season — replacing the injured Sergei Bobrovsky.
The last-place Blue Jackets have now won back-to-back games versus Montreal for the first time since 2011. Atkinson scored a hat trick to sink the Canadiens 5-2 on Monday in Columbus.
Down 3-1 heading into the third, Alex Galchenyuk reduced the deficit at 3:45, one-timing home a cross-ice pass from Subban while Montreal had the man advantage.
Devante Smith-Pelly scored for Montreal in the first period, his fourth goal of the season.
But that was all the offence the Canadiens could muster.
"The belief and the care hasn’t left this locker room," said a frustrated Brendan Gallagher. "Game after game, we haven’t been getting the results that we wanted, but we can’t say it’s for a lack of effort.
"The guys want it so bad. It’s just not happening right now."
Montreal lost captain Max Pacioretty to injury midway through the second period after he took a Subban slapshot to the left side of his face. Pacioretty, the team’s leading scorer with 19 goals, did not return in the third.
After the game, head coach Michel Therrien said Pacioretty was "going to be okay."
Columbus made Montreal pay for its lack of discipline in the first period, as the visitors converted on both their power plays.
Eight seconds into a Torrey Mitchell holding penalty, Jenner beat Scrivens for his 17th of the year at 10:51.
And with Pacioretty still in the box for tripping later in the period, Hartnell capitalized on a bad giveaway by Andrei Markov behind his own net to double Columbus’ lead at 19:19.
During the first intermission, the Habs announced forward Daniel Carr would miss three months with a right knee injury, effectively ending his season. Carr, who has five goals in 19 games with Montreal, suffered the injury on Monday in Columbus.
Notes: Jacob De La Rose replaced the injured Carr in the lineup. De La Rose was assigned to the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps after the game. … Head coach John Tortorella (broken ribs) was not behind the bench for Columbus. … This was the final game before the NHL all-star break for both teams.
