Montreal Canadiens Wilt In Toronto Maple Leafs Onslaught

Montreal Let The Game Get Away

Some debated the officiating was suspect but honestly the flow of this game tilted toward Toronto from almost the beginning. This looked a bit more like most of the matchups during the regular season. There could be no excuses about compressed scheduling this time around. Toronto had seven of the nine high-danger chances at even strength. The expected goals for was 2.1 for Toronto to Montreal’s measly 0.98.

Again, it was more than the lack of Montreal discipline, it was Toronto that asserted their ability. The second period was an absolute clinic as the Maple Leafs outplayed the Canadiens throughout the entire 20 minutes. Montreal’s players could not get pucks out of their zone, could not win faceoffs (just 19 of 56 on the evening), and it did not help that Shea Weber took 12 minutes in penalties. That strained Montreal even more than they were already.

Carey Price could only do so much. Allowing two goals was not actually so bad considering the 20 shots Toronto had. The goaltender kept the game somewhat competitive even though the result felt academic after 40 minutes. Montreal had little or no offensive punch and understandably Toronto let up a bit later in the third period. By then, the damage was done.

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So, What About Game 3?

The question will keep getting asked. When do we see Cole Caufield? Maybe the more accurate inquiry is do we see Caufield at all in this series? Jesperi Kotkaniemi was solid and scored a goal in Game 3. However, Montreal missed Jake Evans immensely. They had few answers for Toronto in so many phases.

Montreal’s top-six barely mustered much of anything at all. Again, it felt too much like what was seen during the regular season where Toronto went 7-2-1 against the Canadiens. If Ducharme and company, do not make some adjustments, this still could be a rather short series. Montreal definitely is at a crossroads it expected to be.