Ouch
Round 1, Game 5: Habs vs. Leafs
Simon B
This game was a crazy roller coaster of emotions! From being down 3-0 to Jake Muzzin of all people scoring two goals to get them back in it to Nick Suzuki winning it a minute into overtime, a lot of storylines came out of this game.
John Tavares gave the Leafs a big morale boost, back on the practice taking shots only a week after his collision. JT was also in the house for the game, cheering on his team who had a chance to close out the series last night.
For the lineups, Rasmus Sandin was back in for Travis Dermott. I think this was the wrong move by head coach Sheldon Keefe because Dermott looked really good in game 4. Keefe should have given Dermott the chance to prove his consistency by showing he could do it in two straight. Sandin had been good up to this point in the series but game 5 was one to forget for him. He didn't have the same impact he had had in the first three games of this series and wasn't bringing the same amount of energy. Keefe would have done well to swap him out and see how he did after a break.
The Good
Coming back from being down 3-0 is always a great accomplishment. But when you get two goals from a player who you would never expect to score, it's even better. Jake Muzzin is a very defense-first player. He has only had 2 goals all season but that's a surprise to no one: as a defenceman, his job isn't to score the goals but help prevent them.
With Zach Hyman scoring a very Hymanlike goal (crashing the net and fighting like a dog for the puck) to make it 3-1 before the second intermission, it was clear that the Leafs hadn't lost all hope. However, they'd need some sort of boost after that.
Jake Muzzin then blasted a slap-shot from the blue line right through 4 pairs of legs screening Carey Price to bring the Leafs within one. If Muzzin scores, that's the type of goal I'd expect him to score: a slap-shot from the blue line. But his second was a real goal-scorer's goal. He tipped a shot on the move towards the net. When he scored that goal I had to double-check my TV to make sure that was really Muzzin jumping into the rush because I don't think I've ever seen him do that before. With the Leafs at least.
The Bad
Toronto could've won this game. They played a horrendous first period and that's what ended up costing them this one. It's always going to be hard to come back from 3-0 deficits and they can't count on crazy comebacks like the one we saw last night.
Defensively, the Leafs had no structure in the opening frame. On the first Armia goal, they turned it over at their own blue line and that's a big defensive no-no. The second Armia goal, I didn't think it was necessarily anyone's fault, it was just a bad team effort. There was chaos in front of Campbell and he couldn't find the puck. It's the little things that win a series and the Leafs weren't doing any of them. Clearing the zone, keeping possession, and avoiding crazy plays in front of your net are all examples of things they could've done better.
Then there's the Galchenyuck turnover in overtime. It almost hurts to see a guy who had such a good game in game 4 cough up the game in one play. But in overtime, it's not really next-goal wins but more next-mistake losses and the Leafs had a costly one.
Turning Point
The third Leaf goal really changed the pace and momentum of the game. Before that, the Leafs were pressing but Montreal seemed to have their number. Then when Muzz tied it, things got crazy conservative for Montreal whereas Toronto was really trying to end the series right then and there. Price had to be really sharp all game long (and was the reason the game even went to overtime). Ilya Mikheyev had a chance to end it with 3 seconds left in regulation but fanned on the puck with a gaping cage in front of him!
A short-term memory will be needed if the Leafs want to avoid the two words Leaf fans dread the most: Game 7.
The Wrap
So I was really hoping the Leafs would close things out last night. The good thing about having such a big series lead is that you have a bit of leeway. They can't abuse it though. If Montreal manages to get this series to a game 7, it's 50/50. Toronto has to end this series with dispatch for two reasons: first, they gotta win it if they want to continue their quest for the cup, and second, the faster this series is over, the more rest days they'll have before the second round begins against the Jets.
Montreal will have fans in the building on Saturday so we'll have to wait and see how much of a factor this will play.
Truly, fingers crossed.
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