Nick Suzuki scored the lone goal for the Montreal Canadiens in the loss.
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The Montreal Canadiens, missing four key regulars, couldn’t muster enough offence in a 4-1 loss to the North Division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Without Brendan Gallagher, Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Tatar and Paul Byron in the lineup, the depleted forward unit fired a commendable 33 shots on red-hot Leafs goalie Jack Campbell, but could only beat him once.
The Habs were coy prior to gametime, with only Gallagher and Drouin the sure bets to not play. Gallagher has been out with a thumb injury, while the team announced earlier in the day Drouin would be taking an “indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons” and was placed on long-term injured reserve. With the usual lines disrupted, rookie Cole Caufield was placed alongside Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli in just his second NHL game.
The Leafs got to work early, scoring on the game’s opening shot. After Toffoli took a minor penalty 59 seconds in, William Nylander completed a precise passing play by beating Habs netminder Jake Allen on the doorstep to make it 1-0. The Canadiens got a power play afterwards, and for the first time, freshmen Alexander Romanov and Caufield were on the initial wave together. Later in the period, sniper Auston Matthews showed off his hand-eye coordination by lassoing a puck midair, setting it down and beating Allen in a blink of an eye. Nothing the Habs goalie could do, and suddenly they were down 2-0. Josh Anderson nearly halved the Leafs lead but missed an open net from the slot following a Jeff Petry pass. Despite giving up two early and only facing seven shots in the period, Jake Allen shook off the rough start and made key saves off Rasmus Sandin and Matthews to keep his team within striking distance. There was also this funny play during the first:
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The Leafs took a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second when Jake Muzzin flipped a puck from the point on Allen, only to have it inadvertently tipped by Habs defenceman Jon Merrill along the way. The goal gave Leafs vet Joe Thornton his 1100th career assist. A 3-0 lead is by no means insurmountable, only the Habs entered the game with 28 goals in their last 14. Another worrisome stat:
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Suzuki finally put the Canadiens on the board, taking a Petry outlet pass into the zone before firing a quick shot in motion from the left faceoff circle that beat Campbell blocker side. The Maple Leafs’ coaching staff was given ample time to consult their tablets whether the Habs were offside, but elected to not challenge the official call. Anderson took some of his earlier frustrations of not scoring with a punishing hit on Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly.
The young Habs tried early in the third period to create offensive momentum, but Caufield couldn’t separate himself from defenceman Travis Dermott entering the zone, and after finding himself inside the Toronto net, Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a hi-stick from Alex Galchenyuk. Even Jake Evans, noticeably speedy since his return as an emergency callup, got a rare shift alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Phillip Danault. With the Habs starting to show life, Allen made a miscue handling the puck behind the net, allowing Jason Spezza to find Adam Brooks wide open in front, who made it 4-1. The assist allowed Spezza to tie Habs Hall of Famer Maurice Richard in career points. Already exhausted from the schedule and down four bodies, the Canadiens couldn’t get off the canvas following that unexpected haymaker. With the victory, the Maple Leafs clinched their berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, the Habs remain six points up on the Calgary Flames for the division’s fourth and final playoff spot, with no more games in hand.
The Liveblog commenters didn’t expect an injury-ridden Habs team to demolish the mighty Leafs, which takes some of the sting out it.
3. “And Jason Spezza ties the Rocket…..in Montreal…..in the house that David Desharnais built. Salt…..meet wound!” -Justin Miller
2. “We’re missing 5 key players right now. Gally/Tatar/Byron/Drouin/Price. That’s not NOTHING! We’re going to be a bit of a mess until we get four of them back. Missing that many players at the same time would hurt any team.” -Carin Latzel
1. “On the bright side, Habs killed it in the face off circle tonight” -Dale Geldart
About Last Night: Hurting Habs no match for Leafs in 4-1 loss - Montreal Gazette
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