One More to Go
Round 1, Game 4: Leafs vs. Habs
Simon B
The big controversy before last night's game 4 turning point game in the series was who would get the start in net for the Leafs. It was the second half of a back-to-back so some argued that the start should go to the rested option in Frederik Andersen. Others said that they need to see if Jack Campbell can play well in two straight nights. The Leafs decided to go with the latter. I agree with that decision but not because I wanted to see how Jack would perform in a back-to-back situation (the playoffs are not the time to experiment) but because between him and Andersen, he's been the most consistent netminder all season.
Sheldon Keefe did make a few changes from the lineup he iced in game three. Rasmus Sandin was given the night off so that Travis Dermott would get some playoff action and not keep him too cold and Riley Nash was taken off the fourth line and was replaced by Adam Brooks making his first appearance of these playoffs.
The Bad
It's kind of difficult to find a bad spot in the way the Leafs played last night. They didn't allow any goals, their penalty kill was excellent once again, they scored a handful of goals and there were no defensive breakdowns in their own zone. They scored on the power play so they haven't gone back into a complete slump there again.
The only thing I could criticize from last night is that they took a couple avoidable penalties. Notably, Adam Brooks going off for roughing Brett Kulak. Toronto's penalty killing has been perfect all series but if you give Montreal too many opportunities with the name advantage, they'll end up making you pay at some point.
The Good
This game was probably the turning point in the series. With the Leafs up 2-1 coming into it they had a golden opportunity to put a stranglehold on the Habs and they seized it. The difference between 3-1 and 2-2 in a series is huge and since they won, they're poised for a series W Thursday night on his ice.
The obvious choice here is Jack Campbell who got his first career playoff shutout making 32 saves. Even though Jack was once again very solid, I'm going to go off the beaten path.
The best part of last night's win was the way they got a big performance from their depth players. Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, and Alex Galchenyuck (3-point night!). Jason Spezza has is probably signed to the most team-friendly deal in the league as he's making the league minimum 700K per season and he's got over 30 points in the regular season and two huge playoff goals. Joe Thornton getting on the scoresheet is always a plus because that's not the main reason he's on this team. He's here for experience and leadership in the locker room. Alex Galchenyuck has bounced around from team to team over the past couple of seasons but I think he's got himself a home here in Toronto. The way he's been able to be decent no matter what line he's on is a huge win for the Leafs. Galch was once a 30-goal scorer in Montreal but since has declined dramatically in production so it must feel awesome to score three points in a pivotal playoff game against the team that gave up on him.
Another positive was William Nylander scoring his fourth goal in as many games this series. He's stepped up in a really big way since Tavare's has gone down.
Turning Point
Last night, the Leafs went into that third period with a lead. Familiar isn't it? They did the exact same thing the night before. On Monday they really had trouble containing the Habs surge in the final frame and Jack Campbell had to make save after save to preserve the victory. Last night, it was a different story. The Leafs didn't really allow any big opportunities for Montreal to score and when they pulled their goalie, with 5 minutes to go, the Habs couldn't generate any pressure at all. And unlike Monday night, Toronto got an empty netter to seal the deal.
If they're able to do that for one more game, the series is over. Montreal looks like they've used up everything they had in the tank but the Leafs are just proving to be too strong for them.
The Wrap
I'm not going to say that this series is over because it's not. This team hasn't won a playoff series since before I was even born so to say that they've got this in the bag is far from the truth. I won't believe that they can really win a series until they actually do. But things are looking really good. They've got one more game to win until we can start to focus on Winnipeg who awaits in round two. I really hope they can close things out on Thursday so that they'll have a few more days to practice before the second round.
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