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Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens faced off with likely their biggest rival. The Toronto Maple Leafs are possibly entering a period of mild decline, and having sold multiple pieces from their active roster, the players have expressed disappointment in the season. With six points in his last three games, Juraj Slafkovsky and the Habs looked to push the pain further in front of the Bell Centre crowd.

The Habs earned their 3-1 win by bending but not breaking after going up by two in the first period. They tried to finish their other chances but risked getting “goalied” when they could not, and almost blew the lead completely in the third period following Cole Caufield’s exit of on-ice play. Ivan Demidov took double shifts, and looked like a bit more practice could be used before getting slotted on the top line again. Nevertheless, Montreal emerged with two invaluable points and now look ahead to another divisional matchup that means even more for the playoff picture: Ottawa on Wednesday.

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook— Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Zach Bolduc – Jake Evans – Kirby Dach
Josh Anderson – Phillip Danault — Brendan Gallagher

Lane Hutson – Kaiden Guhle
Mike Matheson — Noah Dobson
Arber Xhekaj – Alexandre Carrier

Jakub Dobes

10 Thoughts

1) Both Kapanen’s and Bolduc’s lines had rush chances within the first few minutes, as the Leafs defenders gave enough space to allow zone entries along the wall. A bouncing puck from Anderson’s shot led to another close call for netminder Joseph Woll, and the Kapanen’s line closed the deal quickly after. Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson endured 25 seconds of checking along the boards to Woll’s right, spinning off Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe numerous times without taking full contact. Ivan Demidov absorbed a final check, spun towards the middle and fed Newhook in the slot. Having tried the play moments before, Kapanen was still at the goal line, took the pass from Newhook on his forehand before pivoting to the front of the net. His flip-shot bounced off Woll’s inner elbow and got the game rolling for Montreal, 1–0.

2) Montreal kept pushing the pace following the goal, a directive from the coaching staff evident in their jumping pace. Not to be outdone by his skaters, Dobes stopped Max Domi point-blank in the slot following an Anderson giveaway and was bowled over by Guhle and John Tavares as Toronto got their second and third shots of the opening frame. Dobes made a terrific right pad save as he sprawled out of the net, a desperation stop that kept the momentum in Montreal’s grasp. The puck, however, stayed out of the net.

3) Danault doubled down for Les Habitants late in the first, rewarding his teammates for their effort in the shifts prior. Woll had stopped hammered shots from Dobson and Matheson, but Danault got the better of him when he chased down a dump-in that bounced right into the slot. Hutson had retrieved the puck from behind Dobes and moved it across to his partner, and Guhle fired it in. Montreal has an off-centre glass pane near the goal line, and the puck struck that pane (once more), flipping out to the middle at a perfect angle for Danault as he beat both defencemen to Woll. Danault carried it for a moment before poking it past Woll, a crushing moment for a goaltender that had been bailing out his defenders for the prior 15 minutes.

4) With less than a minute remaining in the first, Montreal kept the foot on the gas by whipping the puck around and walloping the Leafs physically. Gallagher crushed rookie Easton Cowan with a thorough body check and tagged Jake McCabe with a few fists during the ensuing fight, all to the roar of a raucous crowd. Montreal went to the dressing room in charge on the scoreboard, two goals to nothing and 18 shots to Toronto’s five, and with all the energy from their heart and soul handling his business.

5) The Canadiens continued their torrid pace towards the net through the opening minutes of the second period, but were the first to be shorthanded when Xhekaj interfered with Jacob Quillan. The Marlies’ leading scorer crashed into the post as he went toward the net, and Montreal’s penalty killers went to work cutting passing lanes and forcing Maple Leafs off the puck in both their own zone and the neutral. The most dangerous chance of the sequence came as both teams were changing following Xhekaj’s return to play, when Domi attempted to feed Nick Robertson across the slot and Matheson was just able to turn around and get his stick in the way, saving an open-net goal.

6) Removing the single shift of extended zone time, Montreal was skating downhill for the duration of the first 30 minutes of game time. The Habs did not have odd-man rushes to characterize their play, instead picking apart slow Toronto defencemen and out-skating their forwards low in the zone. Montreal’s forwards came back into plays once they lost the puck and fought to get it back, earning more possession time that actively translated into scoring chances.

7) Cowan drew the second uneven advantage for the Maple Leafs after being taken down by Hutson as he tried to get the inside edge driving to the net. Hutson grabbed his shoulder and both players ended up on the ice. Montreal cleared the early loose pucks and kept the Leafs to the perimeter. Dobes made a prime glove save at the tail end of the kill when Matias Maccelli skated across the slot and fired at the far post, and made another on a McCabe blast from the top of the left circle.

8) Following a commercial break, Dobes was strung out by the Leafs and his top line when Dobson turned the puck over to William Nylander at the blue line. Dobson tried to clear the puck to Caufield, but Nylander easily batted it down and went in with Cowan two-on-one. The two forwards passed between each other twice and Nylander tucked the puck into an open net, getting his team in the game before the end of the period and before an even larger hill could develop. Two posts followed to the Canadiens’ benefit and kept the game even, then the top line pushed but were unable to beat Woll cleanly. Hutson and Suzuki had glorious chances, but not enough power behind their shots to beat Woll fast enough in tight.

9) Toronto’s goaltender continued to keep the Maple Leafs relevant in the game with more technical stops, squared to the puck, and playing with a predictable glove. Evans was gifted another opportunity in front of Woll when Dach fed him on the forecheck, but the glove was there again to take away the far post. Readers should note that Caufield had played just over eight minutes entering the third period, and Demidov was taking the even-strength shifts on the top line throughout the duration. It’s not an injury; Caufield was battling an illness and will travel with the team to Ottawa.

10) As the time ticked down in the third period, Woll’s saves eventually gave the Leafs their chances to move their legs and put the rubber on Dobes. Following two egregious non-calls for high-sticking, interference, and tripping a minute earlier, Knies hooked Hutson and high-sticked Gallagher on the same play in the middle of the ice. Montreal was granted its first power play of the game, and Caufield got onto the ice for the first time in the frame with the top unit. They tried to hit Slafkovsky in the slot but the shot was blocked, and Suzuki’s first cross-seam pass in months skipped over Demidov’s stick, and then the play was blown down after a non-hand pass hand pass. Unable to earn a shot, Oliver Ekman-Larsson decided he had skated too much this game and tripped Newhook as he went into the corner behind Woll. Montreal was back on the attack, Caufield wincing once more. Early clears and a blocked shot chased them from the play, and Dobson got the best shot of either two minutes when he hit Woll’s crest. With Woll pulled late, Matheson made a diving play to get the puck out of the zone and Evans took the puck away from Cowan as they fought down the ice to end with an empty-netter and another four-point win.

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Jakub Dobes 

If Jakub Dobes starts a game, Jakub Dobes makes the 3 Stars list. Dobes made crucial maintenance stops in the first period as the Canadiens jumped Toronto, and his sequence of stops during the 15th and 16th minutes of the second period matched his Leaf counterpart’s play for the Habs. Without it, Montreal’s skaters would have been forced to chase a game they were already leading in order to maintain their lead. As it happened, Montreal would need Dobes dearly for the remainder of the game as they fought off a Toronto roster that built pace as the game dragged on and they were allowed to linger.

Stats: 17 SV, 1 GA, .944 SV% 

2nd Star – Mike Matheson

The final play of the game sealed the deal for Matheson’s placement on the 3 Stars; his defensive play throughout the match, enabling a plethora of Montreal’s offence. He kick-saved a shot in the second period (as did Carrier) and bounced out for a Habs chance, blocked another shot in the third, and stayed in the play to erase Dakota Joshua. Matheson deserved more than the single point to represent his contribution, but one is what he will take. Habs fans can rest assured that their veteran defensive leader would be just as capable in tonight’s game as he would if called upon to play the top power play unit as well.

Stats: 1 assist, 3 shots, 2 blocks, 1 hit, 23:49 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Oliver Kapanen 

Kapanen and his line were everywhere during the first period, putting the pressure on the Leafs and suffocating the defenders with their forecheck. We didn’t see much of him after the first frame, other than some excellent play on the penalty kill, but when 91 was skating, he was noticeable. Without his goal, one that took skill and his personal agency to make the play, the Habs may not have led the rest of the game.

Stats: 1 goal, +1, 1 hit, 3 shots, 15:07 T.O.I.