Primeau makes 41 saves, Canadiens shut out Blue Jackets

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) since losing five straight.

Elvis Merzlikins made one save on four shots before he was replaced by Daniil Tarasov for Columbus (22-33-10), which has lost three of four. Tarasov saved all 19 shots he faced in relief.

Gallagher scored 21 seconds into the first period to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead, putting in a backhand centering pass from Jake Evans in front.

Slafkovsky made it 2-0 at 3:15 on the power play with a one-timer from the right face-off circle.

Roy pushed it to 3-0 at 5:48, redirecting Arber Xhekaj’s shot from the blue line past Merzlikins, who was replaced after allowing the goal.