The Canadiens jumped to a 2-goal lead after some incredible Alex Galechenyuk moves allowed Lars Eller to be left wide open to pound home the rebound. The 2-goal lead would not last very long, as Leo Komarov would beat Carey Price 43 seconds later to cut the lead to 2-1. David Desharnais would score next, after carrying the puck up the ice on an odd-man break, Desharnais’ pass would be deflected and slide under Bernier’s pad to give the Habs reestablish the Canadiens’ 2-goal lead. Again, the Leafs would cut into the lead quickly, with James Van Riemsdyk burying one after taking a shot off the back-glass the bounced to him alone in front of the net. That made for 4 goals scored in 6:36 on a combined 24 shots attempts.
The Leafs seemed to be having an easy time at preventing the Canadiens from breaking out of their zone. This led to the Habs utilzing fewer controlled zone-exits which in turn allowed the Leafs to maintain a series of offensive pressure where they created 10 shot attempts in the span of 3 minutes midway through the 2nd period. The Canadiens ended up taking a penalty, with Lars Eller being sent off for high-sticking. It looked as though the Leafs would force a tie, but the Habs would jump on loose puck off a face-off in their own zone, with Max Pacioretty streaking up the wing on a 2 on 1 and firing off his league-leading 7th goal of the season. The Habs would take another penalty to give the Leafs 1 minute of 5 on 3 powerplay, but the Canadiens would kill both penalties.
Dion Phaneuf took exception to getting hit too hard by Dale Weise near the end of the 2nd period – because you shouldn’t hit your opponent as hard as you can. In fact, for a guy like Phaneuf it’s best to roll out a red carpet first and make sure to offer him a juice box afterward and a hug. Phaneuf would be penalized for retaliating, giving the Habs a chance to go up 5-2, which they would when P.K. Subban would set up Brendan Gallagher who tipped in his team’s second powerplay goal of the night.
Scoring Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:53 | MTL | PPG – P.K. Subban (1) Slapshot – ASST: Max Pacioretty (4), Tomas Plekanec (5) | 1 – 0 MTL |  |
| 2ND PERIOD | ||||
| 01:54 | MTL | Lars Eller (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (6) | 2 – 0 MTL | |
| 02:37 | TOR | Leo Komarov (4) Wrist shot – ASST: James van Riemsdyk (1), Scott Harrington (1) | 2 – 1 MTL | |
| 04:24 | MTL | David Desharnais (2) Backhand shot – ASST: Tomas Fleischmann (3), Alexei Emelin(1) | 3 – 1 MTL | |
| 06:36 | TOR | James van Riemsdyk (3) Wrist shot – ASST: Dion Phaneuf (5), Leo Komarov (1) | 3 – 2 MTL | |
| 15:30 | MTL | SHG – Max Pacioretty (7) Wrist shot – ASST: NONE | 4 – 2 MTL | |
| 19:46 | MTL | PPG – Brendan Gallagher (4) Tip-in – ASST: P.K. Subban (9), Andrei Markov (9) | 5 – 2 MTL | |
Penalty Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||
|---|---|---|
| 03:16 | TOR | Scott Harrington Interference – 2 min against Devante Smith-Pelly |
| 05:59 | MTL | P.K. Subban Holding – 2 min against Leo Komarov |
| 09:21 | TOR | Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau Hooking – 2 min against Lars Eller |
| 2ND PERIOD | ||
| 06:36 | TOR | Nick Spaling Delay Gm – Face-off Violation – 2 min |
| 14:36 | MTL | Lars Eller Hi-sticking – 2 min against Mark Arcobello |
| 15:41 | MTL | Devante Smith-Pelly Slashing – 2 min against Byron Froese |
| 18:48 | TOR | Dion Phaneuf Cross checking – 2 min against Dale Weise |
| 18:48 | MTL | Alexei Emelin Cross checking – 2 min against Nazem Kadri |
| 18:48 | TOR | Nazem Kadri Roughing – 2 min against Alexei Emelin |
Shots
| PERIOD | TOR | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 14 | 11 |
| 2nd | 23 | 11 |
| Total | 37 | 22 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | TOR | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 0/3 | 2/4 |
| Hits | 15 | 16 |
| Faceoff Wins | 28 | 20 |
| Giveaways | 4 | 10 |
| Takeaways | 0 | 4 |
| Blocked Shots | 6 | 9 |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 8 |
