About Last Night: Noah Dobson injury looms large over Canadiens in loss

Against a desperate Columbus Blue Jackets team fighting for their playoff lives, the Canadiens (47-22-10) couldn’t match their opponent’s energy in a 5-2 loss on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

It was the team’s final regular season game on home ice, where they finished with a 24-15-2 record.

Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes makes a save while teammate Adam Engstrom (42) and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan (23) stand in front in Montreal on Saturday, April 11, 2026. Christopher Katsarov / The Canadian Press

Noah Dobson left the game in the second period after blocking a shot on his hand. During the second intermission, the club announced he would not return.

In the third period, Ivan Demidov also left for the dressing room momentarily after taking a hit from behind by Zach Werenski, but he returned to finish the game.

It was all Columbus in the early going, as they looked to keep pace with the Philadelphia Flyers for the final available playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Boone Jenner opened scoring on Jakub Dobes at 1:13 into the game.

At 5:42 of the first, Charlie Coyle scored his first of two on the night to extend the Blue Jackets’ lead. Dobes was hung out to dry in the first two minutes, with 26 shots faced, including many from close quarters.

The Canadiens got on the scoresheet before the end of the opening period. Lane Hutson put himself two points away from tying Larry Robinson’s team record for a defenceman in a season with his 64th assist on Josh Anderson’s 14th goal of the season.

The Canadiens couldn’t build any momentum on the goal. At 1:24 of the second period, Kirill Marchenko used Dobson as a screen to beat Dobes to reinstate Columbus’ two-goal lead.

Oliver Kapanen then took a penalty for hooking after an extended shift in the defensive zone, but it was Arber Xhekaj who drew the ire of coach Martin St. Louis on the bench afterward with his inability to clear the zone.

After successfully killing the Kapanen penalty, Sean Monahan scored against his former club to give the Blue Jackets a 4-1 lead. The last time Dobes allowed four goals in a game? March 3 in that barn burner against the San Jose Sharks.

In the third period, Cole Caufield hit 51 goals a little faster than it took for him to score his 50th. He beat Jet Greaves from a tight angle to make it 5-2 Columbus. Nick Suzuki reached 99 points on the season with an assist. He’s now one point away from becoming the first Hab to reach 100 points in a season since Mats Naslund in 1985-86. Juraj Slafkovsky got the other helper.

Coyle added one more with the man-advantage for the decisive 5-2 win for the road team. The Habs ended their regular season at home on a losing note.

Columbus entered the Bell Centre needing a win at all costs, while the Canadiens were perhaps due for a comedown after the playoff-like atmosphere in their 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

If the Canadiens were debating resting players in the hopes of capturing the Atlantic Division crown, Saturday’s result may have scared them straight.

St. Louis elected to not make any changes following Thursday’s win, but he could opt to put forwards Brendan Gallagher and Zachary Bolduc back in the lineup if Demidov, Josh Anderson (who also took a tumble) or anyone else needs a rest. Kaiden Guhle missed a third straight game, but could be called back in the lineup.

After the game, Suzuki was greeted by Pierre Turgeon in the dressing room. Suzuki recently passed Turgeon’s team-high for points by a captain. Turgeon had 96 in 1995-96.

In other Canadiens news, top prospect Michael Hage will not be joining the Habs this season. The soon-to-be 20-year-old forward has elected to stay in college at University of Michigan for his third season.

As one might expect from a 5-2 loss, the entire team was in the red on Hockey Stat Cards’ Game Scores.

The team will close out their season with two road games: on Sunday in Long Island and Tuesday in Philadelphia.

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