Leafs slip in North heavyweight bout
First loss of season when leading after two, Habs’ hits take a toll
The Maple Leafs remain the class of the North Division, even after a 2-1 loss to the Canadiens on Saturday night.
But the Canadiens are clearly not prepared to concede the division mantle.
After two mostly dormant periods on offence, Montreal opened up for two goals in the third period for the win at Scotiabank Arena. Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Gallagher delivered the daggers to the Leafs, who could have opened up a sevenpoint lead over Montreal with a win.
The Canadiens outshot the Leafs 13-8 in the third and dished out 45 hits overall to turn the game in their favour.
“They started forcing the game physically, and started to make us look tired,” coach Sheldon Keefe said of the hits total. “You can’t win a game in this league if you only play 20 minutes.”
The momentum shift was obvious in other areas. Toronto enjoyed a 16-12 edge in shots after two periods and failed to convert at least four high-danger chances on Montreal goalie Carey Price in the first period, after Mitch Marner opened the scoring at 3:36.
Montreal wound up with a 2522 edge in shots and a slight advantage in puck possession in the offensive zone (15:51 to 15:26) after trailing in that area in the first period.
The Leafs’ first period dominance also included a 7-3 edge in slot shots on net, a category the Canadiens led 12-11 by game’s end.
> Missed opportunity: The Leafs lost despite season highs in two other areas. They posted 90 zone exits, compared to 67 for Montreal, and completed 21 stretch passes.
> M, M good: The Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner combo continues to be the most lethal in the North, and one of the deadliest in the NHL. Marner opened the scoring 3:36 into the game on a setup from Matthews. That’s the biggest difference from previous seasons when they worked together: They are both shooters and passers now, less predictable for opposing defences, whereas in the past it was Marner with the pass-first mentality and Matthews with the big shot.
Marner’s closed a book with his goal: the Canadiens were the only NHL team he hadn’t scored on. He now has seven goals on the season. Matthews, meanwhile, is on a 12-game points streak, with nine goals and three assists over that span. It’s the longest active streak in the NHL. They combined for seven of the Leafs’ nine shots in the first period.
> The book on Price: Matthews, William Nylander and Alex Kerfoot all failed to beat Montreal goalie Carey Price on high-danger chances in the first period. Every one went high blocker on Price, who entered the game having allowed 11 of 23 goals against in that area. Clearly, Price made the adjustment.
> Streak’s over: The Leafs lost for the first time in nine games when they held a lead going into the third period.
> Ins and outs: The Leafs took Nick Robertson, Adam Brooks and Rasmus Sandin off the taxi squad and lent them to the AHL Marlies. Keefe said Robertson, out since the first game of the season with a knee injury, has been cleared to play. He will get that chance with the Marlies, but Keefe has left the door open for Robertson to return to the NHL.
> Ownership play: Word broke during the “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcast that Tavares, Jason Spezza and Sam Gagner have purchased the GTHL’s Toronto Marlies organization. “It’s still in a process, so we can’t say much about it now … but Sam approached me when the opportunity presented itself,” Tavares said later.