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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A tough season for David Desharnais finally produced a bright spot. Desharnais scored in the shootout -- the only time he has found the net all season -- and Peter Budaj stopped all three shots he faced in the tiebreaker to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. "You know what? He played well," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said of Desharnais, the fifth-year pro who has one assist in 17 games this season. "He started on the fourth line and I saw his intensity in practice this week. "Im really glad for him and his confidence that he ended up scoring the goal in the shootout." Desharnais had been contributing so little that he was a healthy scratch in two of the previous four games. But he had a good percentage in shootouts last season, and that was enough for Therrien to send him out. Desharnais took his turn after the first three shooters were stopped. He came in and netted a hard forehand on Curtis McElhinneys stick side. "He had a quick release there," McElhinney said. "Shootouts are always difficult ways to end games." Budaj, giving starter Carey Price a night off before the Canadiens face the New York Rangers at home on Saturday night, had earlier stopped Mark Letestu and Anisimov. He blocked Ryan Johansens forehand attempt to clinch the win. Budaj, who had 23 saves, said Desharnais finally got repaid for his hard work. "David works so hard. Nobody sees that," Budaj said. "It has been tough for him, but he stayed the course like a true professional and kept working hard. The coach put him there, and he was ready. His hard work paid off. He made a big, big goal for us." Montreals regulation goals were scored by Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. R.J. Umberger and Artem Anisimov had first-period goals for the Blue Jackets. McElhinney made 38 saves. The game pitted teams that have been struggling. The Canadiens had lost five of six (1-3-2), and the Blue Jackets have now dropped eight of nine (1-6-2) -- although they have earned at least a point in their last four games. "Were doing a lot of good things. I think thats maybe the frustrating part," forward Nick Foligno said. "There just seems to be that lull, that little moment in the game where we give them a chance to come back or we let them hang around. We had a 2-0 game. Youve got to find a way to hold that lead." The Blue Jackets took that two-goal lead in the first period, one on a gift, but then helped give one back in the final seconds. The first came at 15:33 when Umberger was at the short boards on the left wing and fired a shot that Budaj missed because of a screen in front to make it 1-0. Columbus continued to pressure, and David Savards slap shot from the top of the right circle clanged off the post. Seconds later, Anisimov took a backhand swing at a loose puck that appeared to ramp off a Canadiens stick. The puck sailed high, and with Jared Boll on his back in the crease while bumping into Budaj, the puck lazily bounced into the net. After the Blue Jackets Jack Johnson and Montreals Brandon Prust went off with concurrent penalties, the Canadiens scored a goofy goal. Columbus defenceman Fedor Tyutin whiffed twice on a bouncing puck at the blue line, and Galchenyuk swooped in to beat McElhinney with a forehand with just 8 seconds left in the period. The Canadiens tied it on the power play at 7:34 of the second. They had gotten several prime opportunities on their first attempt with a man advantage. This time Daniel Briere had a clear shot from the high slot, but McElhinney blocked it. The rebound squirted off to the right doorstep where Eller jammed it in under McElhinneys right arm for his seventh goal. Budaj never let the Blue Jackets regain the lead. "Theres a disconnect somewhere," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "Weve talked about it a lot. In the first period we execute, do the right things, have some success, and then we abandon it." NOTES: The Blue Jackets sustained a major blow Friday when it was announced RW Marian Gaborik will miss 4-to-6 weeks after spraining his left knee in a 3-2 overtime loss at Boston on Thursday. ... LW Prust returned to the Montreal lineup after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury. ... Columbus LW Matt Calvert, who has missed several weeks after abdominal surgery, and rookie C Boone Jenner, who missed his ninth game with a leg injury, are both skating. They could be available when the Blue Jackets start a season-high, five-game road trip on Sunday at Ottawa. ... Montreal killed 36 seconds of 3-on-5 in the first period. . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. . He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. http://www.soccercolombiamart.com/world ... -jersey/.Y. -- Syracuses streak lives on -- barely. . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. . - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night.HOUSTON -- Soony Saad scored late in the first half, and Dominic Dwyer added a penalty kick goal in the second to help 10-man Sporting Kansas City beat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Friday night. Kansas City snapped a five-game winless streak to improve to 6-5-4. "For them to be able to come in here and get a win being a man down and having a lot of changes, was huge," Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said. "From that perspective, its more for us than just three points going into the (World Cup) break." Houston (5-9-2) has lost four straight -- all shutouts -- and hasnt scored in 389 minutes. Houston had a few regulars, including starting goalkeeper Tally Hall, replaced in the starting lineup. Houston coach Dominic Kinnear took responsibility for the loss. "Its my fault for giving guys a chance," Kinnear said. "Im the guy who picks the team Im the guy who makes the subs. This game is my fault today, I take 100 per cent. I dont look back on years and say, Oh that was a tough stretch in 08. I dont know. Its not a good time right now." Saad scored in the 45th minute, taking a pass from Benny Feilhaber and sending a shot into the right net from just the left of the upper half-circle. "Even with us being down a man, I feel like we stayed mentally focused and picked our moments to go," Saad said. "On the one where I scored, that was just us stepping up as a team, capitalizing on a mistake and it was perfect right before half to get momentum going into the half." Dwyer struck in the 70th, firing his penalty kick low into the right net and freezing Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric. Sporting was awarded the penalty kick after Houstons A.J. Cochran had a hand ball in the box off a corner kick. Kansas City played the final 69 minutes a man down after Toni Dovale was given a straight red card in the 21st minute for elbowing Houstons Alex Lopez in the face. The win was Kansas Citys first since May 10 in Monntreal.dddddddddddd "We were up in it today with the red card early in the game," Dwyer said. "It was a lot of running for us. We stayed in touch with the game and was able to get the three points. It was a good test of character (to be down a man). We had a lot of guys who normally dont start who came in today and had a fantastic performance from everyone on the field." Warren Creavalle had a chance to score for Houston in the 76th minute, but his shot from the right box was saved by a diving Eric Konberg. Houston had two more chances late in second-half stoppage time. Giles Barnes sent a shot from inside the upper goalkeepers box off the face of Kronberg. The rebound attempt by Will Bruin in the middle of the box was slowed by the traffic in front of the net and cleared out. "I think we need to look at everything from back to front," Barnes said. "Im sure thats exactly what we will do out on the training field. There will be some guys coming back, some people can get some extra fitness work in so that after the break we come back ready to go." Sporting Kansas City lost captain and midfielder Paulo Nagamura in the third minute after he and Cochran went up for a ball and Cochran headed Nagamura in the back of the head. Alex Martinez was substituted in for Nagamura, who was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to the locker room where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He was not taken to a hospital. Houston lost starting defender David Horst in the ninth minute with a left leg injury after a corner kick. Horst hobbled to the sideline, and Eric Brunner came in for him. Feilhaber, who was tackled hard by Brunner on the first goal, left the game with a left shoulder injury at halftime. Both teams were down two players already due to the World Cup call-ups, with Houstons Brad David with the U.S. and Boniek Garcia with Honduras, and Kansas Citys Graham Zusi and Matt Besler with the U.S. ' ' '