Toronto, ON— The Toronto Maple Leafs overpowered the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Maple Leafs’ goaltender Jack Campbell notched his 10th straight win, setting a franchise record for consecutive wins by a goaltender.
Both goaltenders needed a few minutes to settle in, as the first 2 shots were goals.
Auston Matthews scored 54 seconds in on a wraparound shot off the far post. Matthews is first in the league with 28 goals.
Corey Perry responded one minute after. Perry faked Campbell into opening the 5-hole, and Perry snapped the puck in. After the first 2 shots, the goaltenders locked in and would not allow any more goals until the third period.
Canadiens’ goaltender Jake Allen made a fantastic glove save on Alex Galchenyuk as Allen was falling over.
Two Montreal penalties in a row allowed the Maple Leafs a five-on-three advantage. But the Canadiens played solid defense and killed both penalties, only allowing two shots.
For the first period, Leafs dominated the offensive zone, forcing longer shifts for the Canadiens.
In the first minutes of the second period, the Canadiens attacked. The Leafs could not get out of their own zone, but the Canadiens could not beat Campbell. Ten minutes into the second period, Toronto only had one shot.
Even with the limited shots, Allen had to stay sharp. Leafs’ Mitch Marner passed to Zach Bogosian for the open shot but Allen stopped him. Allen then stopped Tavares on a two-on-one.
Matthews to Marner, but Allen pokechecked him at the last minute.
Campbell made a great save on Drouin to keep the game tied 1-1 after two periods.
In the third period, it was the Leafs’ time to attack. T.J. Brodie scored 2 minutes into the period. Wayne Simmonds passed it, the puck bounced off a Canadien, and Brodie finished to put the Leafs up 2-1. The Leafs continued to attack, with Matthews getting robbed by Allen multiple times.
Joel Edmundson sent a shot ringing off the post, but the Canadiens could not get it into the net.
Then, the back-breaking goal. Marner passed it to Matthews, who dished it across the crease, to Zach Hyman, who tapped it in smoothly. Canadiens could not stop the Leafs, and Allen could not get enough help to stay in the game. Perry drew a penalty on Travis Dermott, but the Canadiens could not get a shot off during the powerplay. After the Canadiens pulled their goaltender, Perry scored again to make it 3-2, powering the puck past Campbell. But it was not enough, and the Leafs held on for a 3-2 victory.
Up Next
Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators, Saturday, April 10, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
Winnipeg Jets vs Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, April 8, Centre Bell Arena, Montreal
