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Plekanec scores late to lead Habs over Jackets

Oct 18, 2013 - 3:41 AM Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - Tomas Plekanec scored the game-winning goal with 1:07 left to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

With the game tied at 3-3 late in regulation, the Canadiens won a faceoff in their own zone and quickly advanced the puck up ice. Brian Gionta skated with the disc along the right boards and centered it to Plekanec, who briefly skated in before firing a wrister from just inside the blue line past Sergei Bobrovsky for the go-ahead marker.

Plekanec scored again 49 seconds later with a shorthanded empty-netter to account for the final margin.

Rene Bourque, Michael Bournival and Andrei Markov also tallied for the Canadiens, winners in four straight. Carey Price made 30 saves in the win.

"I thought they picked up their game after the first and played better in the second part. When they scored they were skating pretty well," Plekanec said. "As you know, it was a long trip for us and it showed. We were able to top them, though. I was rewarded at the end with a pair of goals, you can consider one lucky."

Boone Jenner scored a pair of goals and Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, losers in three straight. Bobrovsky stopped 31 shots in the setback.

Montreal jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the midway mark of the second period.

Bourque's breakaway wrister made it 1-0 just over 4 1/2 minutes into the game, and Bournival added his first career NHL goal nearly 7 1/2 minutes later. P.K. Subban skated across the ice and dropped a pass back for Markov, who fired a cross-ice pass which Bournival one-timed past Bobrovsky for the score.

Markov's shorthanded goal just under seven minutes into the middle session put the Canadiens up by three, but Columbus scored the next three goals to tie the game.

Not even a minute after Markov's score, Jenner netted a power-play goal off a rebound to pull the Blue Jackets within 3-1. Johansen scored with just under three minutes remaining in the second to make it a one-goal game.

"The first goal is one that I will remember. I know scoring in a building like this, because I watched the Habs quite a bit on television, so it is pretty cool. It will be with me for quite a while," Jenner said.

Jenner's second power-play goal, which came 4:35 into the third, tied the game at 3-3. Jenner handled a loose puck in front of the goal before flipping a backhander into the net to knot things up.

Columbus went on the power play with just over five minutes left, but the Canadiens were able to kill off the man advantage.

Game Notes

The Canadiens snapped a two-game skid with Columbus ... Subban had two assists ... Montreal beat the Blue Jackets at home for just the third time in the history of the series ... The Blue Jackets conclude their three-game road trip in Washington on Saturday.