Primeau recorded his second shutout in four starts, making 13 stops in a 5-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on February 13.
“Once I got in, everyone was going crazy,” Primeau recalled of the postgame reception in the locker room. “It really means so much. They were as much a part of the victory as I was.”
Primeau made his first start since the Canadiens sold goalie Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils on Friday, bringing an end to Montreal’s season-long rotation of three goalies.
“[Primeau] just looks more confident in the net,” Kaiden Guhle, a Canadiens defenseman, remarked. “He’s making a number of big saves at crucial points in the game. The first session could have ended 3-3, but he kept them all out of the net. And sometimes you need that from your goaltender. Sometimes the team’s not playing the greatest in front of him and they stand on their head. So he’s a major contributor to tonight’s victory.”
Brendan Gallagher, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Joshua Roy scored in the first period for Montreal (25-30-10), which has won three of seven (3-2-2) games after losing five in a row.
The Canadiens, who led by three goals 5:48 into the game, were outshot 22-8 in the first period and 41-23 overall.
“I think there have been a lot of games this year where we’ve had really good starts,” he remarked. “And then we’ve returned to the room after the first, and it’s been tied, or we’ve been down at times, and we almost didn’t get rewarded. I believe that tonight, in general, the first quarter was not our finest.
Elvis Merzlikins made one save out of four shots previously.
He was replaced by Daniil Tarasov for Columbus (22-33-10), which has lost three of its last four. Tarasov stopped all 19 shots he faced in relief.
“It was a slow start for us,” Tarasov added. “Obviously, it was a pivotal moment [when] they scored three goals in a row, and it felt like a slap in the face, but then we started moving our legs and creating chances in the offensive zone. But [Primeau] was quite good.”
Gallagher scored Montreal’s first goal 21 seconds into the game, converting a backhand centering feed from Jake Evans.
At 3:15 on the power play, Slafkovsky scored a one-timer from the right face-off circle, making it 2-0.
“I feel like we’re improving from game to game,” Slafkovsky remarked. “We keep working, we keep reading off each other and then it makes it easier for everyone on the ice if we’re on the same page.”
Roy made it 3-0 at 5:48, diverting Arber Xhekaj’s shot from the blue line past Merzlikins, who was substituted after conceding the goal.
“We were very opportunistic,” Gallagher explained. “We scored early, which clearly helped. I believe that allowed us some time. ‘Prime’ made some massive saves for us, obviously, but I thought we calmed down nicely as the game progressed, particularly in the third. But, certainly, it’s wonderful to be up 3-0 early.”
Merzlikins was making his first start since March 2, having missed the previous four games due to an upper-body ailment.
“You want to change the momentum there,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent remarked about the goalie switch. “I don’t think it’s about Elvis, but you want to do something right now. The first one is a turnover, the second is a penalty kick, and the third is entirely on us systemically. However, we had several opportunities to tie the game up. You’re down three goals five minutes into the game, but there’s still plenty of time, and we generated enough to come back.”
NOTES: Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov exited in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. There were no updates. Kirill Marchenko, a Columbus forward, did not participate due to illness. The Canadiens have scored in the first minute of two consecutive games for the first time since February 1-3, 2004. Michael Matheson scored 38 seconds into the first period of Montreal’s 3-2 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. … Slafkovsky, 19, has 34 points this season (14 goals, 20 assists), tying Henri Richard (1955-56) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2018-19) for the third-highest point total by a teenager in Canadiens history. Mario Tremblay scored 39 points in 1974-75, while Stephane Richer got 37 in 1985-86.
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