For our new readers and members, the Top Six Minutes is a continuation of the discussion in the game thread. We try to keep it light and entertaining.
Pre-Game
Pre-Game
- Remember that the Torontonians finally broke through and won a playoff round last spring.
- They must be thrilled!
- As good a reason as any to knock them back down to the ground.
- Hockey is back! Let’s get at it!
First Period
- The silence in Scotiabank Arena is so compact that you could hear a needle fall.
- Invigorated start by the guests. Toronto seem to be longing for the playoffs already.
- And an early goal to start things of!
- When the Canadiens social media team asked the players ahead of the game who would score the first goal of the season, Jake Evans answered: “Me!”.
- Turns out he was right.
- Cold as a cucumber on the breakaway.
- Oh no, a Habs power play. That’s one way to kill the mojo.
- A few good looks actually. No score though.
- KSI vs. Tommy Fury? Who cares. We’ve got Arber Xhekaj vs. Ryan Reaves here.
- Arber wins the fight and gets an extra two for instigating.
- Apparently you have to pay dearly to beat Reaves in his favourite game.
- “Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”
- The veteran third line, also known as the The Fragiline due to the involved players proneness for injury, is looking surprisingly interesting.
- Tanner Pearson could be a solid role player this year.
- Also, trade bait. Not to forget.
Second Period
- Mesdames et Messieurs, les Canadiens de Montréal start the second period off by doubling their lead with a beauty of a goal.
- Slafkovsky wins the puck in a board battle, sending the puck up to Dach for a three-on-one breakaway.
- Slaf then rushes forward like a bull on wheels to get the puck back before finding Alex Newhook at the far post for a tap-in. C’est magnifique.
- Suzuki gets penalized for hooking. Penalty kill holds the fort.
- Guhle draws a penalty on Kämpf, and the Habs are back on the man advantage.
- And they score! Or did they?
- Sheldon Keefe is challenging for offside on the cole scorer Goal Caufield.
- My apologies. Freudian slip.
- It was very close, but Keefe wins the challenge and the score remains 2-0. For now.
- Noah Gregor scores from a tough angle, and the Leafs have life. Unfortunately.
- The hosts are suddenly taking over the game.
- That offside goal was a momentum shifter for sure.
- Newhook to the box for a dubious tripping.
- And Tom Selleck scores for Toronto. Sigh…
- New penalty. New goal.
- Wild Bill Nylander has his first of the season.
- It was fun while it lasted. Permission to go to sleep?
Third Period
- “Second verse, same as the first!”
- Meaning, the third period starts off the same way as the second ended. Yippee Ki-Yay.
- It’s strange seeing Max Domi fraternizing with the enemy.
- Power play Montreal, after Tyler Bertuzzi swung his large mittens against The Joshua (Anderson) Tree.
- And Caufield has his goal!
- “Attaboy Bertuzzi, you something something.”
- Momentum swings, I said? I meant it.
- Arber BOOM XHAKA LAKA! And Newhook has his second of the night!
- Shot from the blueline is redirected in front of the net. That’s all it takes to beat Ilya Samsonov tonight.
- What just happened? Am I delirious? I blame sleep deprivation.
- There is a scent of winning in the air.
- 5-3 Montréal! Timothy Liljegren whiffs on the puck, and Jake Evans quickly gets it to Jesse Ylönen for a confidence boost.
- It would be great if Jake Allen stopped letting in pucks from impossible angles right about now.
- Toronto removes the goalie with 3.30 to go, and manage to find the game-tying goal with just over a minute to go.
- An Auston Matthews hat trick. Well, so what? Even Ryan Poehling has scored a hat trick in the NHL.
- A point!
Overtime
- Jake Allen – Saving the difficult shots and letting in the easy ones.
- I guess you have to take the bad with the good.
- We’re heading to a shootout.
Shootout
- Nylander misses.
- Suzuki whiffs on the puck.
- Matthews fails to get the true Poehling hat trick (three plus a penalty shot)
- Caufield misses.
- Mitch Marner scores.
- Dach must equalize. But he crumbles under the immense pressure that is the first game of the season.
- Un point!
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Can’t argue with that
2) Magic Mike
1) Did they teach that takedown at sheriff school?
