HABS FORCE GAME 6
SUZUKI’S OT WINNER SENDS LEAFS BACK TO MONTREAL
The Maple Leafs had trouble translating coup de grace, so this Stanley Cup series has another rendezvous in Quebec.
Administering that final blow proved too elusive on Toronto’s first try as Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens live to see another game, Saturday at the Bell Centre.
Nick Suzuki’s 2-on-0 goal off an Alex Galchenyuk giveaway 59 seconds into overtime made it 4-3 and negated a three-goal Leafs comeback.
There will be about 2,500 fans allowed in on Saturday to cheer a possible knotting of the best-of-seven series. Only 13 teams in the NHL’S 21st century have come back from being down 3-1. The Leafs had shut down the Habs every time after losing a disjointed Game 1, but this one got away early.
They’d tried their best to conquer any complacency the previous 48 hours, insisting they recognized the threat Montreal still represented, starting with Price in net. He made early saves as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner buzzed around, plus a last-minute glove stop on the hottest-scoring Leaf, William Nylander. As the third period opened, Price turned aside a Zach Hyman breakaway and a great Alex Kerfoot snap. He made 32 saves.
Joel Armia, meanwhile, cashed two in the first against Jack Campbell, who came into this game with a .965 save percentage. Armia had a freebie from the slot when Rasmus Sandin got bumped off the puck coming out of the corner, another on a scramble rebound. Armia has five goals in playoffs at SBA going back to last year’s bubble. Sandin was victimized again in the second period when Jesperi Kotkaniemi blocked his exit from behind Campbell and stuffed the puck past the surprised goalie.
Only then did Toronto’s top line break through, when Price was caught out of his net, a goal credited to Hyman. But Sandin didn’t see any ice time after his second gaffe.
Jake Muzzin, after Toronto missed on its only power play of the night, made it 3-2 with a screened point shot and moved to the net to tip Galchenyuk’s shot, his goals coming five minutes apart midway through the third.
Matthews and Marner had assisted on Hyman’s goal, tallying a combined eight points through the five games.
The Canadiens, with just four goals up to Thursday’s match, held a full morning skate with lots of energy and chatter.
Coach Dominique Ducharme made one lineup change, Erik Gustafsson for Brett Kulak on the third pairing with Jon Merrill.
There’s heat on Ducharme to make this a series despite the Leafs being favoured, but it’s more on general manager Marc Bergevin, who fired Claude Julien early in the year and needs this team he constructed to pull an upset.
“You don’t want it to end,” winger Brendan Gallagher said before the game. “We’re fortunate to do this (play through a pandemic year), we want this to continue.
“We’re obviously not scoring enough. I don’t care who’s in net or who you are playing against, there always a way to score a goal. You just have to find a way to outwork the goaltender.”
The winner of this series faces the Winnipeg Jets.