Matthews scores league-leading 64th goal as Leafs beat Canadiens
MONTREAL — Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 64th of the season in a fourgoal second period for the Maple Leafs as Toronto defeated the archrival Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
Matthews hit the 100-point mark for the second time in his career and extended his point streak to 10 games in the process.
The 26-year-old superstar is on pace for 69 goals, one shy of the 70-goal milestone that hasn’t been attained since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny reached 76 in 1992-93. No one has scored 65 goals since Alex Ovechkin bagged 65 in 2007-08.
Bobby McMann, Matthew Knies and Max Domi also scored as Toronto (44-23-9) spread the wealth on offence. The Maple Leafs clinched a spot in the playoffs while idle on Friday.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves. Star forward Mitch Marner had one assist is his first game back from missing 12 with an ankle injury.
Nick Suzuki — with a goal and an assist — and Cole Caufield scored for Montreal (29-3512) in a second straight loss. Mike Matheson pitched in with two assists.
Sam Montembeault allowed four goals on 12 shots before getting the hook midway through the second period. Cayden Primeau stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief.
Canadiens defencemen Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj missed the game with upperbody injuries. Guhle is day-to-day while Xhekaj is undergoing evaluation. Montreal recalled defenceman Justin Barron from American Hockey League affiliate Laval on an emergency basis.
Johnathan Kovacevic and Tanner Pearson also drew into the lineup. Jesse Ylonen was a healthy scratch.
After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened in the second.
Domi opened the scoring 2:21 into the period by tipping a point shot from Ilya Lyubushkin between Montembeault’s legs.