Ups and Downs
Game 19: Leafs vs. Habs Simon B
This condensed 56-game schedule is a bit weird. Up until this point, every Canadian team other than Vancouver has had at least one four-day break. The issue with this is that by the time the regular season ends in May, teams like the Leafs and the Habs are going to have to go through long stretches of time where they're playing almost every second night. I don't see why they don't take that 4 to 7 days of rest and sprinkle them in to avoid having teams play 4 games in a week in some cases.
Montreal was coming off one of those nearly-week-long breaks while Toronto played their fourth game of the week. Normally, I'd tend to think that the better-rested team (who’s also playing in their home rink so travel isn't a factor) would have the advantage. But the way things have gone this year, playing more often gives the Leafs an edge because, in this high-paced division, players need to be in the groove of the game right from the first puck drop.er. Let's take a look at this game to see why.
The Game
Games this season don't usually start off with both teams playing it safe, and this game was no exception. We saw a high-flying pace early with both the Matthews’ and Tavares’ lines getting some nice chances. Toronto was definitely the better team over the first 10 minutes of action because they got into the flow of the game sooner than Montreal. About halfway through the period, the Habs were looking a lot more alert and were executing plays much better than at the start of the game. Montreal had about 18 shots in the first period, but at least 11 or 12 of them were excellent opportunities that Frederik Andersen needed to be sharp on. In the last two minutes of the frame, Montreal defenceman Victor Mete took a hooking call to put the Leafs up a man. Then on the subsequent power play, another Habs defenceman, Ben Chiarot, flipped the puck over the glass without it deflecting off anything for a delay-of-game penalty that gave the Leafs a 5 on 3 advantage for 1:19. With only 14 seconds remaining in the period, both penalties carried over and the Leafs launched the second with a two-man advantage.
With that major advantage in hand, the Leafs controlled all of the possession in the Montreal zone. Then Mitch Marner carried it in from the point and at the top of the screen, I saw Auston Matthews calling for the pass with his stick in the air. Marner threaded a needle through the Montreal defense right to Matthews' stick, and before I knew it, the Leafs were up one.
I know it was a 5-on-3 situation, but if you're a Hab it's pretty obvious what might happen when Marner has the puck and Matthews is across the ice calling for a pass. Montreal needed to stop that cross-ice pass from getting through. But, hey, it's 1-0 Leafs.
Another important thing with that goal is that there was one second remaining in the first penalty to Victor Mete so the Leafs would still be on the power play when play resumed. That turned a good situation into a better one for the Leafs. Montreal defenceman Jeff Petry tried to shoot it down the ice but it hit Matthews in the back. He got it to Joe Thornton who had plenty of room to make a pass (which is the very definition of a bad time for Montreal). Thornton got it to a streaking Travis Boyd who tucked it past Carey Price to double Toronto's lead.
I'm always talking about response shifts because they show the mental strength of a team as well as its discipline. Well, the Leafs followed up scoring twice in 17 seconds to allow two breakaway goals in 30 seconds, and just like that, the game was tied up at two. Jasperi Kotkeniemi and Paul Byron were the goalscorers. Both goals were defensive carnivals where everyone was out of position, and they left Andersen with no help whatsoever.
Do you know what changed the direction of the game after that? A truly gratifying response shift by the Maple Leafs. For about four minutes, Toronto looked strong and well-organized. That put Mitch Marner dancing in on Ben Chiarot and sniping it low glove-side on Price to give the Leafs the brief lead they had right back.
The whole second period was a bit of a defensive fiasco for both teams. Luckily, that benefits the Leafs because their star players thrive against unorganized defenses. The Leafs ended up drawing another penalty against Mete to get their third power play of the night. Here's a little scenario: Auston Matthews is given lots of time and space at the top of the faceoff circle. What do you think might happen here, Montreal defense? Auston shoots a rocket low of Price and it's 4-2.
There was an entire series of events with a goal by Montreal that got allowed, then the call stood and then they reversed the call again but I'll talk about that in an upcoming post about the officiating this season. Disclaimer: it's been pretty bad.
The third period was a crazy six (almost seven) goal period, in stark contrast to the second. The defensive structure on both sides because of some much tighter defensive positioning so there were not as many scoring chances. Montreal did control the play, though. Andersen made some timely saves to keep the lead at 4-2 but it never really felt like the Habs would score. Past the halfway mark of the period, Jason Spezza made a beauty of a move and gave the puck to Alex Kerfoot who just needed to poke the puck into the net past a sprawling Price, and it was 5-2. The Habs scored not long after to make it 5-3. Tyler Toffoli was left alone in front (more defensive mishaps) and popped it over Andersen's pad. The Habs pulled the goalie but never really threatened to score and the game ended 5-3.
The Wrap
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