Clinched

 Game 49: Leafs vs. Habs

Simon B

Four times in 11 nights. That's how many times the Leafs and Habs will play each other before the end of the regular season. And the way things are looking, these two teams are going to square off in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1979. With that in mind, these next four games are sort of a "tune-up" for both sides to brace themselves for the likely first-round clash.

No lineup changes for the Leafs since the last game.

The Game

Early in the game, the has taken a penalty. About 40 seconds into the man advantage, Mitch Marner shot the puck off of Jake Allen's pads and William Nylander was parked in his power play office at the side of the net to tap it home and give the Leafs the early 1-0 lead.

Montreal did get the bulk of the chances however and they were outscoring the Leafs by a few shots. But even though they weren't getting the most chances, the Leafs have something that Montreal doesn't. They have Auston Matthews. 

Nick Foligno tried to make a cross-ice pass to Mitch Marner but it hit a leg and bounced into the air. Auston Matthews showed off some really nice hand-eye coordination and batted the puck out of mid-air before absolutely ripping it past Allen to double the Leafs' lead.

The rest of the period was pretty quiet with not many scoring chances on either side and the period ended 2-0.

The second period started off pretty slowly for the Leafs as Montreal had the bulk of the chances to begin the period and it really didn't look like the two-goal lead was going to last very long but Jack Campbell played very well and kept Toronto in it. I really think Campbell can be the everyday starter for the Leafs but he just needs to get into a groove and he'll be able to perform really well. Getting used to that amount of playing time is important for goalies because they're creatures of habit. Campbell came into this season expecting to be the backup and he was suddenly thrust into becoming the main goalie. The adjustment period was probably difficult for Campbell and I think that's the reason he scuffled the last few games but I think he's back to his winning ways and it shows in the way he looks in the net. More confident, happier, and moving around much smoother than he was a few games ago. 

I would be nice if the Leafs could provide some more insurance for their goalie. So Jake Muzzin decided he would chip in. The fourth line (which I raved about in my last post) was passing the puck around really well in the offensive zone and they got the puck to Muzzin at the point. He took a shot that went through traffic and was tipped past Allen by his own defenceman, through his pads, and right to the back of the net to give the Leafs the 3-0 advantage.

Montreal didn't let up at all though and they kept pressing a lot for the rest of the period. Jack Campbell made some nice saves but there was one shot he couldn't stop: Nick Suzuki was given a whole bunch of time and space and was able to walk right in a fire a beauty of a wrist shot right past the ear of Campbell, off the post and in. It was one of those shots that you don't realize went in until you see the player who scored it raise his arms in delight. There really wasn't much Campbell could've done there so he's really not to blame for the 3-1 goal. There was no more scoring in the second period and now the Leafs had a chance to close things out in the third.

The third period was really fun to watch from start to finish. It was high-paced hockey with lots of scoring chances on both ends of the ice. Both Allen and Campbell had to be quite sharp for their respective teams. The thing that I like the most about these high-flying periods is that it really benefits the Leafs. It's important to have a well-structured defensively (which the Leafs do finally have this year) but when you can also play that really high-paced play, that means that your team can adapt to different types of play quickly which makes them that much dangerous.

Speaking of dangerous, the Leafs' fourth line was really dangerous all game. They aren't on the ice for that long but when they are they are really effective. Not giving the Habs any room, forcing them to the outside. Their hard work paid off again. The puck was going around the boards and Jake Allen came around the back of his net to play it but he completely whiffed and Jason Spezza was easily able to center to Adam Brooks who put it into the empty cage to make it 4-1. The game would wind down with the Leafs doing a great job of shutting the Habs down and they would come away with the two points.

The Wrap

With this win, the Leafs are mathematically in the playoffs. This means that now all they have to do is fine-tune all the little things that need to be fixed before round one of the playoffs in mid-may. At this point, I'm getting kinda restless for the regular season to be over and the Playoffs to start but I'm going to make the most of all the game left this season because it's the Leafs so their season may be over before we all expect. 

Next up: tomorrow against the Canucks at Home

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