Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVAS (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet Now
After a four-game losing streak in which the Montreal Canadiens looked like they had completely run out of gas, they showed that they still had a drop left in the tank when they took on the Washington Capitals.
The Canadiens had gone a full 145 minutes without getting on the scoreboard, but that all changed in an explosive middle period on Thursday night. After crashing into the boards that had some praying that we didn’t just add the captain to the long list of injured players, Nick Suzuki bounced back (as he has a tendency to do) and finally got his Habs on the board with a beauty of a short-handed goal, and hit a new career high in points while he was at it.
Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher got in on the action, wrapping up the period with four goals. In the 6-2 victory, Armia came away with his second NHL hat trick, and Sam Montembeault made 24 saves to celebrate his 100th career game.
“We really haven’t been happy with the way we were playing. And as much as it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, I think it was great to just get a nice solid one,” Mike Matheson, who scored the final goal in the dying seconds, said after the game.
Tale of the Tape
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| Canadiens | Statistics | Leafs |
|---|---|---|
| 31-42-6 | Record | 46-21-11 |
| 45.6% (28th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 51.2% (14th) |
| 2.78 (26th) | Goals per game | 3.36 (9th) |
| 3.66 (29th) | Goals against per game | 2.73 (9th) |
| 16.7% (28th) | PP% | 25.0% (4h) |
| 73.1% (28th) | PK% | 81.0% (12th) |
| 2-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-1-1 |
Meanwhile, over in the TD Garden, the Toronto Maple Leafs were holding their own against the Boston Bruins and were working toward handing them a rare regulation loss … until the third period. While they ended up blowing their lead and losing in overtime thanks to David Pastrnak, that single point helped them clinch home-ice advantage for when they meet the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After being out for about a month with a finger injury, Ryan O’Reilly was activated off Long-Term Injured Reserve for the game, so having him see some game action before the post-season can only help a team that consistently struggles when the regular season is over by bringing his playoff experience into the fold.
Despite the loss, Sheldon Keefe was happy with the result as he seemed to be testing what could be his Game 1 lineup against Tampa – even though the Marner-Tavares-Nylander line played the least amount of minutes – so their impressive battle with the Bruins showed that it could probably do battle against the Lightning. Of course, as we all know, the playoffs are a whole different beast. And as we all know, during the playoffs, the Leafs … well.
Ahead of Friday’s practice, the Canadiens sent Cayden Primeau back to the Laval Rocket, so it looks like Jake Allen could be back in action, or at least available to back up Montembeault if needed. That’s good news for the Rocket as they’re still giving it their all for the final playoff spot in their division.
The man who gets the call between the pipes will be trying to secure a winning record in the season series with Toronto. The only question is, will the Habs be coasting into Toronto on fumes, or is there still a bit left in the tank (the gas tank, not the tank tank)?
