Cam Atkinson of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates after scoring a goal in the second period.Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Josh Anderson each scored two goals and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat Montreal 10-0 on Friday night, matching the biggest loss in the Canadiens' storied history and breaking the Blue Jackets' record.
Montreal lost by 10 goals for the fifth time and the first since an 11-1 loss to Detroit in February 1995. The Canadiens dropped to 9-1-1 with their first regulation loss of the season.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves, and Seth Jones and David Savard added goals to help the Blue Jackets improve to 5-3-1. Columbus' previous record offensive output in a game was eight goals.
After surrendering 13 goals in 10 games before Friday, Montreal gave up eight to Columbus in the first two periods, half of them on power plays. Sixteen Columbus players picked up at least one point.
The Blue Jackets banged away at Al Montoya, Montreal's backup goalie who started in place in a Cary Price in the first game of a back-to-back set. On a power play with 9:04 left in the first, Foligno tapped it out from behind the net to Atkinson, who picked up his third goal of the season and later would get his fourth.
Seth Jones found the net just 58 seconds later from the left circle on a pass out from behind the goal line from Anderson to make it 2-0.
Savard scored for Columbus again with 5:54 left in the first — with a bit of luck. Savard was shooting inside to Matt Calvert, but the puck hit the skate of Montreal's Jeff Petry and trickled through the legs of Montoya. The goal was Savard's first of the season and Markus Nutivaara got an assist, his first NHL point.
Atkinson scored his second goal of the night 4:01 into the second period on a put-back after Gagner's shot bounced off Montoya's pads.
Foligno scored Columbus' fifth off a pass from Zach Werenski 10:12 into the period, and Hartnell tapped in a loose puck from in front of the net a minute and 41 seconds later for the sixth score. Foligno scored the seventh in traffic a minute and 46 seconds after that.
Anderson scored the eighth from the slot just before the end of the second period. Hartnell and Anderson added the last two in the third period.
Montoya had 30 saves for Montreal.