Going from an entire off-season to two games simultaneously seems like we’re going through our own intensive training camp to get into shape for the regular season.
Martin St-Louis said this morning that both games will feature goaltenders splitting the games. He also made the groups with special teams in mind. The Montreal group has the team’s top power play players while the Toronto group has the team’s top penalty killers.
First Period
Daniel Alfredsson coaching the Maple Leafs in Montreal is funny.
Chris Kreider starting his first home game in Montreal is also funny, even if it is pre-season.
First goal of the pre-season goes to Juraj Slafkovský. Nice shot through from Luke Mittelstadt to allow him to get the tip just under the crossbar.
It’s funny that Martin St-Louis said this morning that Slafkovský doesn’t always have to always go to the net when he plays with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen and then scores doing… just that.
Michael Pezzetta and Lucas Condotta and Ethan Samson and Teddy Blueger are your first fights. Both in reaction to clean hits by Montreal.
The first power play unit looks good. If Demidov can fire those one-timers consistently, that’s a new wrinkle.
Second Period
Alright, one period in. At least stacking the pre-season games makes them less tedious to sit through.
Toronto pulls within one on the power play.
Ivan Demidov is a shooter now. That’s new.
You can tell that the game in Toronto has most of the team’s main penalty killers, although it is just the first game of the pre-season. Another power play goal from Toronto ties it up.
Artur Akhtyamov is making some pretty great saves, it must be said. He is the goaltender who upset the Rocket in the AHL playoffs last year en route to winning the Calder Cup.
Nice shift from the AHL guys. Belzile to Thorpe and a nice save from Samuel Hlavaj, who came into the game and starred at the WJC a few years ago.
Jacob Fowler is welcomed to the game with a weird bounce off a skate as the Leafs take the lead.
Not a great sequence for Struble and Xhekaj there, especially considering who they were up against on that shift.
Slafkovský and Demidov look pretty good together, it must be said.
Third period
Here it is, the least important third period of the entire season right now.
Lane Hutson doing Lane Hutson things. Him not facing top competition in the pre-season is unfair.
This might be the worst game I’ve seen Struble and Arber play. It is only one pre-season game, but it’s a short camp and the competition is not far behind them. No offence to Marc Johnstone, but you can’t be getting beat consistently by Marc Johnstone.
Kreider and Caufield out of nowhere leads to a post. Nice to see.
Luke Mittelstadt will be a very good player for the Rocket this season.
Overtime
Never too early to get some early three-on-three practice.
… I am not sure how that stayed out. Demidov with a great chance. He and Slafkovský have been great tonight.
If this game mattered, I’d be a lot more upset at that penalty call.
Cole Caufield OT winner? Start the season, normalcy has returned. (What a play!)
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto: Canadiens @ Maple Leafs
First period
Noah Dobson gives his young teammates an early test by taking a high-sticking penalty seconds into the game.
Gavin McKenna had a couple of chances to make plays on his first competitive power play, but the Canadiens had two short-handed rushes by being aggressive at the blue line to create turnovers.
Adam Engström has gotten beat on a couple of occasions in his first two shifts, setting up a quality scoring chance each time, but Toronto failed to turn either into a shot.
The Canadiens use a power play to get some chances of their own, and jump out to an early 5-2 shot advantage. Zachary Bolduc is heavily involved, getting the puck to the net and staying there for a tip.
David Reinbacher skates the puck down the ice and keeps it alive behind Toronto’s net. The play ends in another Maple Leafs penalty. Great work from him and the line of Florian Xhekaj, Phillip Danault, and Josh Anderson.
The Canadiens are getting the better of the possession and the chances, which probably isn’t what Maple Leafs fans were expecting with this many stars staying behind in Toronto. You can’t really say “it’s just pre-season” when the season starts in a week-and-a-half.
Bolduc goes to the box for hooking Jack Roslovic. Engström and Reinbacher anchor the first PK unit, and spend about 10 of their 60 seconds in their own zone. A good recovery for Engström after his start, and more quality work from Reinbacher, who I think was the best player of the opening 20 minutes.
Second period
Philip Danault starts off the second period by corralling a Bolduc pass to the slot and lobbing it over Sergei Bobrovsky to open the scoring.
With Montreal up a goal, Florian Xhekaj gets immediately called for a cross-checking penalty for trying to defend Auston Matthews. A pre-season penalty to be sure.
Reinbacher completed the PK by stopping on the end boards to turn the puck back the other way, breaking the pressure to get the puck out.
Jake Evans get hit in the offensive zone and heads off holding his shoulder. I think he stayed on the bench, but Montreal doesn’t need that in the pre-season.
Xhekaj draws a penalty with a retaliatory slash from William Nylander.
Auston Matthews leads a two-on-one. Mike Matheson takes the pass away, and Montembeault makes the shoulder save.
Alex Newhook hits the post on the power play.
Defenceman Marshall Rifai lines up opposite Xhekaj on the final shift of the power play, and they trade haymakers with each other for a good 30 seconds. I guess the Leafs didn’t like Xhekaj playing defence versus Toronto’s stars.
He might be wearing a different jersey, but Darren Raddysh is being played the same way by Montreal on the power play, racing out to prevent him from launching a shot. I wonder how many other teams will pay attention to their tactics.
Anthony Stolarx has come on from Sergei Bobrovsky, and Kaapo Kähkönen is in Montreal’s net.
Dobson jumps up from the point, takes a perfect pass from Matheson, but sends it wide of the net.
Xhekaj reads the play well and gets back to play defence. That prevents a two-on-one, and he closes off the entry to prevent Toronto from even gaining the zone. The shifts ends on a less positive note as he’s hesitant to shoot the puck, then sends it blindly to a Leafs defender in the slot.
Matthewsd gets left along at the top of the crease on the power play. He goes backhand for a quick goal, but Kähköne’s glove is quicker with what might stand as the save of the pre-season.
Raddysh is given too much room from Anderson and gets a shot off. The puck snaps the blade off Anderson’s stick, and Matheson … bats the fluttering puck into his own net.
Brett Berard leaps ahead to grab the stick of Gavin McKenna to get the puck, and goes to the box. Berard hadn’t been noticeable in the game until that point.
Lots of practice for the penalty kill at least.
Three more shots fro Toronto that period than Montreal had, thanks to three more power plays.
I give Danault the player of the period honour. He had the goal, and his line has been Montreal’s most effective through 40 minutes. The 33-year-old isn’t playing like this is a meaningless game, and that’s particularly good news for Xhekaj who is getting that additional boost.
Third period
Reinbacher thwarts two attempted Leafs cycles in a 15-second span.
Alex Newhook pulls the puck around the offensive zone and sets up a point shot. Maksymilian Szuber fires a hard shot that takes a deflection off a Leaf player’s stick to put Montreal back in the lead.
Montreal is just passing the puck around the offensive zone now after the goal.
Reinbacher calmly deals with another dangerous situation by batting the puck from the slot to the corner.
After bout five minutes of occasional Habs shots, Toronto gets a dangerous point-blank chance, but Kähkönen is there.
The Leafs try to ramp up their effort with four minutes to play.
Toronto loads up a four-forward fivesome. Newhook keeps McKenna at bay at the point before Reinbacher makes another clear.
Tavares tries to skate around Engström to get to the net, but that won’t happen with Engström’s footspeed, and he ends up crashing into the post.
Anderson lobs the puck from centre ice but it goes wide. But Danault gets to the puck to dribble it inside the far post for a 3-1 lead.
With Stolarz back in, Filip Mešár adds a fourth on the scoreboard to start emptying the building.
That will do it for the Toronto game. A solid effort from Danault with two goals, a strong impression for Florian Xhekaj, and Reinbacher backed up his comments by starring in a shutdown role.
