Soup Du Jour

 Game 14: Leafs vs. Habs

Simon B

 It's been 28 days since the Leafs and Habs last played each other. We didn't really know what to expect in that opening night matchup, but over the course of the last month we've learned a lot more about both these teams. We know that they are hands down the best two teams in the division. That means that the 10 games between Toronto and Montreal will most likely determine who finishes atop the division come May. The Leafs have been really hot of late but it's been against some way less talented groups (notably the Canucks and Sens). This was their first big test of the season.

Travis Dermott was back in the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury. Coach Keefe also decided to go back to the 6 defensemen and 12 forwards setup. That meant that Mikko Lehtonen and Rasmus Sandin didn't play. The Game

The Leafs had a sloppy start. Only 1:17 into the game, Jake Muzzin made a costly turnover near the neutral zone and Josh Anderson came streaking down the wing and fired one past Frederik Andersen to give Montreal an early lead. We saw turnover after turnover, and even Freddy Andersen looked a bit disoriented making a few awkward saves. He finally settled in to make much sharper saves after the halfway mark in the period.

Then came the turning point: Pierre Engvall’s high-sticking penalty. If Montreal had scored on that power play, I think that they would've gained a lot of momentum but the Leafs killed it off strongly and were able to go to break down by only one. I was really hoping that the Leafs would pick up the pace in the second because the first period was a very tight affair with not many scoring opportunities. I got my wish! Toronto looked like the better team as the period began, with many changes and lots of time in the Canadiens zone. On one of those plays, where Toronto was pressing, John Tavares got knocked over behind the Habs' net. Montreal's Shea Weber landed on top of Tavares and WHO? was down on the ice for a while. Whenever a player stays down for longer than usual, it's worrisome. But when it's your captain, you tend to hold your breath. Tavares was bleeding a bit, but he was fine and finished the rest of the game. Then, there was a problem with the recording of the broadcast that I was watching ( I sometimes record the game and start watching a bit later) and I wasn't able to watch the rest of the second. I went to watch the recap on YouTube but it's much harder to analyze and see plays develop when they only show 10-second clips. I saw the Dermott goal (which was his first in over 400 days) that tied things up. It was a four-on-four situation and he had plenty of room to skate right into the slot and rifled it over Price's shoulder. But that's the only highlight from the rest of that period that I saw. When I switched back to live TV, it was the second intermission so at least I didn’tlmiss the third.

Right at the start of the period, it was another four-on-four when Justin Holl got all the time and space in the world to shoot a rocket from the blue line past Price and give the Leafs the lead. What's even better about the Holl goal is that Toronto is getting some scoring from defensemen, which is something they've been lacking so far this year Soon after, the third line had a good little burst in Habs zone and Ilya Mikheyev finally put in his first of the season. Shout out to Scott MacArthur for predicting the Mikheyev goal last night! This was a well-deserved goal after so many chances and missed opportunities to begin the year. The Leafs held onto this 3-1 lead until the Habs had a late push to tie the game. Tomas Tatar was able to put in a loose puck in front of a huge mele in front of Andersen to bring the Canadiens to within one. Montreal pulled their goalie to try to tie it with under a minute to go but Zach Hyman buried the empty netter to ice the game. The Wrap

This was a huge statement win for the Maple Leafs. They were able to beat their most dangerous opponent without their top players carrying the load. The first goal in over a year for both Dermott and Souperman (Ilya Mikheyev. Here's how he got his nickname ) and it was just about a year ago that Justin Holl last ticked the twine. The Habs will play tonight against Edmonton but the Leafs are off until Saturday night when they play Montreal once again. This time they will faceoff in Toronto. I think the Leafs need to take full advantage of the extra day off. This Habs team will come back really hungry for revenge next game so Toronto will have to be ready soon as the puck hits the ice.

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