MONTRÉAL MADNESS: Game 47 – Maple Leafs (7) @ Canadiens (3)

The Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Montréal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Montréal was red hot coming into this game, securing 11 wins in their last 14 games, a feat

that took them the first 30 games of the season to accomplish originally. Toronto, coming

off a win against the New Jersey Devils that snapped a 3-game skid, looked to keep getting

back on track. The teams had met twice already this season, splitting the season series 1-

1.

Right from puck drop, the Montréal faithful were electric. And the Habs delivered,

with Kirby Dach blasting a one-timer past goaltender Joseph Woll from the slot on a

delayed Toronto penalty just 5:08 into the first period. Le Bleu Blanc et Rouge would

control the majority of the play for the remainder of the first period, and it would finally pay

off near the end of the frame. Patrik Laine would torch another one-timer past Woll, this

time from atop of his office at the left face-off circle at 18:21 remaining in the frame. With

the shot deflecting off of Maple Leafs defenseman Connor Timmins, Woll stood practically

no chance. Just 9 seconds later, Josh Anderson would pile on the Canadiens lead. After

receiving a nifty break-in pass from Joel Armia, Anderson would take advantage of a

defensive breakdown and cut inside on forward Max Domi and buried the beautiful back-

hand tuck to give Montréal a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission.

The second period seemed like both teams had settled in, as the Habs dug in effort

to defend their lead. About 9 minutes into the 2nd period, Brendan Gallagher would set up

Chirstian Dvorak in the slot but found nothing but iron. The Leafs would quickly turn back

the other way 2-on-1, where Bobby McMann would riffle one past goaltender Sam

Montembeault, giving Toronto some life about halfway through the contest. Throughout the

rest of the period (and the game), Joseph Woll made a series of highlight-reel saves to keep

Montréal at bay. Nick Robertson would cut the lead in half 18:46 into the second, with a

crafty deflection in the slot on the power play, allowing Toronto to move into the

intermission only down 3-2.

Action in the third period started so quickly, that if you were still up grabbing a snack

or a drink, you probably missed it. William Nylander takes the McMann breakaway pass

and buries the back-handed tuck just 0:24 into the period, fighting off viscous

backchecking from Habs rookie defenseman Lane Hutson. The game would remain tied for

another 4 minutes, before a point shot on the power play by Oliver Ekman-Larsson found

its way past the glove of Montembeault, giving Toronto their first lead of the night. A one-

timed slap-shot from Leafs captain Auston Matthews at 7:58 in the third period would give

the Leafs a two-goal cushion. Later in the period, Toronto forward Steven Lorentz would

find himself lost behind the Habs defensive coverage during a pressured offensive shift.

Ekman-Larsson found him on the back door with a gorgeous cross-seam pass, and

Lorentz’s 5th of the season would give the Maple Leafs a 6-3 lead with just over 5 minutes

left to play. Montréal would have a big offensive push to try and get back into the game late

and came up with some glorious chances that either resulted in near misses, fans, or

Joseph Woll larceny. Leafs centerman David Kämpf would tack on an empty netter, as the

Leafs comeback and take this game 7-3.

Joseph Woll, despite allowing 3 goals in the first period, was razor sharp for the

Maple Leafs. He made 33 saves, sporting a .917 SV%. This game could have easily gotten

out of reach for Toronto in first period if it wasn’t for the sensational play from the

goaltender. Other solid performances include Oliver Ekman-Larsson, putting up a goal and

a pair of assists, Bobby McMann and Patrik Laine, with a goal and an assist each, and

Matthew Knies, who put up an assist along with another stellar defensive performance.

With a win on Saturday night, the Leafs improved to 29-16-2, good for 60 points. They also

maintain their 3-point lead over the Florida Panthers for 1st in the Atlantic Division, as they

beat the Anaheim Ducks early in the day. They also sit second in the Eastern Conference

and fifth in the overall league standings.

Toronto is back home on Monday night at 7:30 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa sits 13

th in the league and is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. The Atlantic Division rivals

have faced off twice already this season, with Toronto winning both times, 5-2 and 5-3

respectively. In the six games they’ve played since Toronto eliminated Tampa Bay from the

first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023, the Maple Leafs have won four of them,

outscoring them 25-23 in the process. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has had his way

with Toronto over his career, scoring 45 points in just 36 games against them, and will look

to continue being a formidable force against the Maple Leafs on Monday night.