Open this photograph in gallery:
Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner skates in the direction of the online whereas chased by Montreal Canadiens’ Cole Caufield, throughout second interval NHL motion in Toronto on Nov. 9.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Following within the victorious footsteps of the Gray Cup-bound Toronto Argonauts, town’s hockey membership ensured it was a each day double at Montreal’s expense Saturday, easing previous the Canadiens with a 4-1 victory.
Whereas choosing up two factors within the Toronto Maple Leafs’ sixteenth sport of a younger NHL season doesn’t carry the identical import because the Argos dethroning the defending CFL champions earlier within the day, it did prolong the Leafs’ current regular-season dominance over their Unique Six rivals. Saturday’s win was the crew’s ninth consecutive victory over the Habs in Toronto, tying the franchise report set between November 1950 and November 1951.
Very similar to Toronto’s earlier wins this week – towards Boston on Tuesday and Detroit on Friday night time – this win was each achieved with out injured captain Auston Matthews, and powered by the particular groups.
After scoring simply three power-play objectives by the primary 12 video games of the season, the crew has scored at the very least one in 4 straight video games, and has seven in its three-game profitable streak.
With Matthews out injured, Maple Leafs dig deep to edge Crimson Wings
In one other of what head coach Craig Berube likes to time period “low event” durations, the Maple Leafs suffocated the visiting Canadiens within the opening stanza. Proscribing them to only two photographs over the primary 20 minutes, a very powerful job for goaltender Joseph Woll – in simply his fourth begin of the season – was seemingly sustaining his focus.
Nonetheless, regardless of their defensive diligence, the Leafs rearguard nonetheless discovered time to chip in on the offensive entrance. Two particularly – Connor Timmins and Simon Benoit – linked up for the opening objective, with Timmins taking the puck from his blueline companion, spinning out of a test from Habs ahead Josh Anderson and firing the puck off the again of Montreal centre Christian Dvorak and previous goaltender Samuel Montembeault.
The 2 photographs the Leafs conceded over the primary interval had been the fewest they’ve given up in a single interval this season, and is correct according to the type of managed hockey that Berube desires to play on the defensive finish.
“I know it’s difficult at times because guys want to get scoring chances and they want to score, and I want them to do the same, but you got to do it the right way,” the coach had stated Saturday morning, following on from Friday’s win over Detroit when the crew had conceded simply 22 photographs.
A lot of the speak within the buildup to this sport was about younger Canadiens blueliner Lane Hutson, fourth in rookie scoring with seven factors earlier than the sport. Nevertheless, the anticipated inexperience that accompanies a participant who entered the competition with simply 16 NHL video games on his resume was laid naked for all to see on the Leafs’ first energy play of the night time.
With Kaiden Guhle within the field for holding simply after the five-minute mark within the second interval, Nylander wanted simply 29 seconds to gather the puck in his personal zone, speed up by the impartial zone and enter the Canadiens finish at tempo, twisting Hutson right into a pretzel as he minimize a path to the online to attain his eleventh of the season.
The objective ticked off milestones for 2 of the gamers concerned, with Nylander choosing up his 66th power-play objective to move Dave Keon for sole possession of sixth place in franchise historical past. And Morgan Rielly, with the secondary help, notched his four-hundredth profession helper, changing into the third defenceman in Maple Leafs historical past to succeed in the mark, following Borje Salming and Tomas Kaberle.
The Toronto particular groups had been simply getting began although. Barely three minutes later, with Jake McCabe off for interference, Mitch Marner and David Kampf broke in on a short-handed 2-on-1, with Kampf patiently outwaiting Montembeault earlier than teeing up Marner to shoot into the empty internet for his fourth of the season, extending his level streak to eight video games. The objective was additionally the tenth short-handed marker in his profession, pulling him right into a tie with Rudy Migay and Lanny McDonald for ninth-most in crew historical past.
The McCabe energy play really led to 2 objectives in 1:02, with the Canadiens getting on the board simply earlier than the midway level of the interval when Brendan Gallagher swatted a rebound out of mid-air and previous Woll for his seventh of the season, with Emil Heineman and Hutson incomes assists on the play.
Lower than three minutes later, the Leafs restored their three-goal cushion. As soon as once more the facility play cashed in, with Joel Armia off for tripping. Nylander and Marner set the desk, working the area earlier than discovering Tavares within the slot, as the previous captain fired residence his eighth of the season, and third in just 24 hours.
The Canadiens – who entered the sport on a five-game dropping streak – lastly confirmed some urgency within the third interval, producing extra photographs within the closing stanza than throughout the primary two.
But it surely was too little too late, and the Leafs absorbed most of their early risk within the interval to carry on to the victory. Woll picked up his second victory of the season, on the again of 20 saves, whereas Montembeault completed with 23.
Toronto now heads right into a fourth straight Atlantic Division sport – on Tuesday towards the Ottawa Senators – on a three-game profitable streak, whereas the Canadiens have a Monday matinee in Buffalo towards the Sabres.
