The Montreal Canadiens had the wind in their sails in the first period, but then completely collapsed to suffer a 7-3 defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
In fact, Martin St-Louis’ men conceded seven unanswered goals from the second period after leading 3 to 0. William Nylander’s goal after 24 seconds in the last period, to level the score, is certainly the one having hurt the local favorites the most.
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The CH subsequently lost rhythm, finding itself bottled up in its territory. This bad pass pushed Christian Dvorak to take a penalty, and Toronto took advantage when Oliver Ekman-Larsson beat goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who finished his work evening with 27 saves, with a powerful shot.
This net proved to be the winning net. Auston Matthews, Bobby McMann, Nicholas Robertson, Steven Lorentz and David Kampf also scored in the Maple Leafs’ victory.
With this defeat, the Canadian (22-19-4) remains in 10th place in the Eastern Association, two points from the eighth and last place giving access to the playoffs held by the Ottawa Senators.
A thunderous start to the match
The first 20 minutes of the game, however, were totally dominated by the Habs. Kirby Dach, while CH was playing six against five due to a delayed penalty to the Maple Leafs, opened the scoring by completing a Nice passing play with Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle.
Moreover, the Finn doubled his team’s lead on the power play at the end of the first period. This success was his 10th with the man advantage, in his 17th game with the team.
Nine seconds later, Josh Anderson scored his team’s third goal after previously mocking striker Max Domi.
Difficult evening for Hutson
Defenseman Lane Hutson certainly had an assist on Laine’s success, but he finished the game with a differential of -5.
He was also in trouble several times in his territory, leading to a costly penalty in the second period, which allowed the Maple Leafs to reduce the deficit to one goal.
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SUMMARY
Third period
[20:00] End of period
BUT TOR 7 – MTL 3 [18:26] David Kampf hits the target in an empty net when the Leafs are defending four against six.
[17:46] Steven Lorentz (TOR) brings down Mike Matheson (MTL) in defensive territory. Digital advantage Montreal.
[15:55] Martin St-Louis recalls Samuel Montembeault (MTL) to the bench for the benefit of a sixth skater.
[15:20] Joseph Woll (TOR) continues to perform magic tricks by blocking a shot from Nick Suzuki (MTL) with the handle of his stick… while diving!
BUT TOR 6 – MTL 3 [14:45] Completely alone in the slot, Steven Lorentz (TOR) adds insult to injury with a sixth goal. Hard evening of work for Lane Hutson, who shows a differential of -4.
[12:09] Tenth shot from Cole Caufield (MTL), who has not yet managed to deceive the enigma of Woll.
BUT TOR 5 – MTL 3 [7:58] Auston Matthews (TOR), who else, is also signing up for the brand. His one-timer from the top of the slot leaves Samuel Montembeault (MTL) with no chance. Shorthanded goal.
[7:08] Kaiden Guhle (MTL) comes close to tying the score by shooting from the slot, but Joseph Woll (TOR) does what is necessary to keep the puck out of his net.
[6:11] We will play four against four since Matthew Knies (TOR) trips Jake Evans (MTL) while outnumbered. Four against four.
[5:53] The Habs find themselves once again in the penalty box. David Savard (MTL) holds back David Kampf’s stick. Toronto power play.
BUT TOR 4 – MTL 3 [4:30] Things are not going well for the Canadian, who allows a fourth goal in a row. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (TOR) scores with a wrist shot from the blue line that seems to deflect. The Leafs have the lead for the first time in the game.
[4:26] Samuel Montembeault (MTL) frustrates Bobby McMann in a good way on the power play.
[3:26] Christian Dvorak (MTL) wraps his arms around William Nylander (TOR) and will have to visit the dungeon. Toronto power play.
-[1:08] Nick Robertson (TOR) trips Lane Hutson (MTL) after the whistle, but the referees do not take action.
BUT TOR 3 – MTL 3 [0:24] William Nylander (TOR) made Lane Hutson (MTL) look bad by outpacing him before beating Samuel Montembeault (MTL) with a nice feint. Three unanswered goals for the Leafs.
[0:00] Start of period
Second period
[20:00] End of period
BUT TOR 2 – MTL 3 [18:46] Nick Robertson (TOR) skillfully deflects Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s throw behind Samuel Montembeault (MTL) to reduce the gap again.
[18:06] Max Pacioretty (TOR) blocks a throw from Auston Matthews with his cheek and it hurts a lot.
[16:47] Pontus Holmberg (TOR) made a great individual effort to slip towards the Canadian’s cage and was caught by Lane Hutson (MTL). Toronto power play.
[15:28] Kaiden Guhle (MTL) supports the attack with two good shot attempts which threaten the cage of Joseph Woll (TOR).
[12:24] Josh Anderson (MTL) escapes again, but this time his throw misses the target.
[10:23] Samuel Montembeault (MTL) recovers well by releasing his pad on a good shot on reception from William Nylander (TOR).
BUT TOR 1 – MTL 3 [9:32] Bobby McMann (TOR), who is one of the Leafs’ most dangerous forwards so far, beats Samuel Montembeault (MTL) with a good shot on a two-on-one.
[4:58] It’s the Canadian’s turn to be faulted for a high stick. Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL) goes to the dungeon. Toronto power play.
[2:35] Arber Xhekaj (MTL) delivers a resounding check to Ryan Reaves (TOR), but no fight is initiated. The match becomes more and more physical.
[0:00] Start of period
First period
[20:00] End of period. The Maple Leafs try to cause trouble, but the Canadiens players do not take the bait.
BUT MTL 3 – TOR 0 [18:30] Josh Anderson (MTL) takes advantage of the confusion among the Maple Leafs to beat the goalkeeper with a superb feint. Two CH goals in nine seconds!
BUT MTL 2 – TOR 0 [18:21] Patrik Laine (MTL), from his usual place to the right of the goalkeeper, thwarts Joseph Woll with a cannonball. This is his 10th power play goal. Seventh game in a row with a point for Lane Hutson.
[14:44] Four minute penalty awarded to Auston Matthews (TOR) who hits Nick Suzuki (MTL) in the face. The Canadian captain lost a piece of his tooth. Digital advantage Montreal.
[14:30] Nice save from Joseph Woll (TOR) by stretching his pad, once again depriving Cole Caufield (MTL) of his 25th goal of the season.
[12:25] Turnover by Max Domi (TOR) near his net which offers a good scoring chance to Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky (MTL).
[11:50] Well positioned in the slot, Nick Suzuki (MTL) hands the puck further to Alexandre Carrier, who makes a good throw towards Joseph Woll (TOR). The Leafs goalie catches with the glove.
[6:53] Bobby McMann (TOR) is caught for catching Lane Hutson (MTL). Digital advantage Montreal.
BUT MTL 1 – TOR 0 [5:08] Kirby Dach (MTL) completes a superb tic-tac-toe organized by Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle to open the score. The CH played six against five, a penalty having been called against the Leafs.
[3:06] Mike Matheson (MTL) is sent on a breakaway and gets the Canadian’s best scoring chance so far.
[1:24] Cole Caufield (MTL) directs two pucks in short order over Joseph Woll (TOR).
[0:00] Start of period
