Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Kyle Wilson had goals and Jake Voracek added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who have won six of eight.
Garon, a second-round pick by the Canadiens in the 1996 draft, played three seasons for Montreal. He improved to 8-0-4 in home games since joining Columbus as a free agent in 2009.
The Canadiens, who had won four of five, were shut out for the second time this season. Carey Price made 21 saves.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom stopped 36 shots, Andrew Brunette scored the game’s only goal and Minnesota shut out the powerful San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks held an 18-4 shots advantage midway through the second, but found themselves trailing after Brunette scored a 5-on-3 goal with 7 minutes left in the period.
The Wild killed five power plays, highlighted by a key stop with 7 minutes remaining in the third. The Sharks entered as the top power-play team in the NHL at 31.6 percent.
It was Backstrom’s first shutout since March 3 at Calgary. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Wild against San Jose.
In Toronto, Sergei Gonchar and Erik Karlsson scored power-play goals 2:26 apart in the second period, and Ottawa beat slumping Toronto.
Mike Fisher had the other goal for the Senators on a penalty shot.
Brian Elliott appeared poised to become the third straight goalie to blank the Maple Leafs until Francois Beauchemin trickled a point shot by him at 5:15 of third period. That ended the team’s goal drought at 167 minutes, 39 seconds, the franchise’s longest in 83 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Toronto went 181:45 without scoring from Dec. 3 to Dec. 8, 1927.
Clarke MacArthur also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have managed only nine goals while going 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf left in the second period with an apparent injury to his left leg.
In Edmonton, Alberta, Raffi Torres had a hat trick against his former team and Vancouver withstood a late charge to beat Edmonton for its fourth straight win.
Daniel Sedin also scored for the Canucks (6-3-2), who won for the first time on the road this season. Vancouver plays seven of its next eight away from home. Dustin Penner , Ryan Jones and Gilbert Brule scored for the Oilers (3-5-2), who have one win in their past eight games after a 2-0 start.
