Habs vs Leafs Recap: Surprisingly Tenacious Maple Leafs

Habs vs Leafs Recap, 11th of APRIL, 2015

Habs Scratched Players: Tom Gilbert, Sergei Gonchar, Manny Malhotra, Max Pacioretty, Mike Weaver.

Leafs Scratched Players: Leo Komarov, Brandon Kozun, Roman Polak, Stephane Robidas, Trevor Smith.

FINAL SCORE

1st Period:

Score: Habs 1 (Desharnais), Leafs 2 (Bailey, Kessel)
Shots: Habs 6, Leafs 6.
Phil Kessel‘s goal was a sneaky wrap around.
David Desharnais must have read AWH because he did exactly what we asked him to do, he took more shots! (Shoot David, Shoot!) When he intercepted the puck in front of the Leafs net, there was enough traffic present to convince some to try to go outside (sides or the points), to get a clean shot. Instead, David took the shot and was rewarded.
The flow of the period was steadily back and forth and the Leafs showed us how tenacious they can be when they decide to show up and play a full 20 minutes. Some chances were missed by the Habs, but in reality it was Carey Price who kept the team in the game with some very key saves that kept the game 2 to 1. The Leafs outdid the Habs in a couple of key areas, including blocked shots (8 to the Habs 4) and in hits (9 to the Habs 4). This allowed them to prevent a couple of opportunities while also setting the tone of the game. The one area that hurt the Leafs was in allowing 7 giveaways.
One other note that I wanted to mention is that Alex Galchenyuk needs to continue playing instead of pleading his case when he gets penalized. If he does this at the wrong time in the playoffs, it could hurt. Unless, that is, he just wants to give the opponent more power play time by complaining about something he obviously can’t change…..

2nd Period:

More from A Winning Habit

Score: Habs 3 (Desharnais, Plekanec, De La Rose), Leafs 3 (Bailey, Kessel, Bozak)
Shots: Habs 10, Leafs 6
Tomas Plekanec scored a beauty with a wrist shot while the Leafs responded shorty thereafter with a tight in shot from Tyler Bozak. The Leafs goal went over Carey’s glove after they won some battles along the boards and were provided room to work in front of the net. Really, they outworked the Habs for that one. Right after the Leafs goal, Alexei Emelin was penalized, making it hard for the Habs to respond quickly. But, once they killed it off, they got a power play of their own. Bernier was bailed out during the PP by Andrew MacWilliam who cleared the puck out of the crease after it squeezed past the net minder.
Brendan Gallagher had a great chance when he crossed in front of Bernier and just missed getting it by Bernier.
Jacob De La Rose was the hero of the period for the Habs when he jumped on a bad clearance attempt by Jake Gardiner.
There was a tussle at the end of the period because of a clean Dion Phaneuf hit. Suck it up boys, it was a great message for him to send, but I do appreciate and like P.K. Subban backing up his team-mate. What a guy!

3rd Period:

Score: Habs 3 (Desharnais, Plekanec, De La Rose), Leafs 3 (Bailey, Kessel, Bozak)
Shots: Habs 13, Leafs 8
The Habs got quite a few chances during their power play time and came very close to taking the lead. During one PP, Bernier was outstanding but still got beat by Gallagher after the Habs really worked hard to get many chances. Fortunately for the Leafs, Gallagher was called for obstruction and the goal was nullified. Load of crap if you ask me.
The 3rd period was played best by the Habs. As much as the Leafs played well during the first, you could see the momentum shift throughout the game the Habs way, and most of all in the 3rd period.
Gallagher also had a wicked chance on a 2 on 1, he was everywhere in the 3rd.
Habs killed off a Dale Weise penalty and wound up

Overtime:

Score: Habs 3 (Desharnais, Plekanec, De La Rose), Leafs 3 (Bailey, Kessel, Bozak
Shots: Habs 4, Leafs 2
P.K. Subban gets a penalty early in O.T. for high-sticking and another for roughing. Somebody should have told him it wasn’t worth it.
Lars Eller came an inch away from ending it on a breakaway where he had 3 Leafs chasing him and hit Bernier on the elbow. He was by far the best Habs forward in the extra period.
A couple of Habs players, Andrei Markov and P.A. Parenteau, were thrown out of the game for arguing with the referees. This with 37 seconds left.

Penalty Shots:

Alex Galchenyuk vs Bernier: GOAL. Beauty on a patient goal as he moved across the crease.
Tyler Bozak vs Price: NO GOAL. Hit Price’s blocker.
David Desharnais vs Bernier: GOAL. Slapshot from a few feet. What a goal.
Joffrey Lupul vs Price: NO GOAL.

Overall Thoughts

The refs definitely botched one goal that would have given the Habs the win in regulation. However, this game felt like the Toronto Maple Leafs were playing for pride and for jobs in 2015-16 while the Montreal Canadiens were playing to not get injured before the playoffs while staying sharp. It wasn’t a complete let-down by the Habs, they played well enough to win, but it certainly didn’t feel like desperation hockey. The Leafs sacrificed the body by blocking shots and dishing out hits, while the Habs didn’t make life too difficult for the Leafs – aside from Eric Brewer.

Hopefully this changes when the playoffs begins.

GRADES

Goaltending

Defence

Forwards

Hope you enjoyed our new Recap format at AWH! The next one should be for a playoff game, so we’re looking forward to it!

Next: Montreal Canadiens Prospect Profile: Charles Hudon