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Montreal Canadiens: Wrapping things up against the Toronto Maple Leafs

By Omar L

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 8: Leafs Ryan McGregor had a nice chance by Canadiens goalie Michael McNiven makes the stop as Cale Fleury (59) keeps pressure on. Toronto Maple Leafs rookies vs Montreal Canadians rookies in a mini set of games at Ricoh Coliseum. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 8: Leafs Ryan McGregor had a nice chance by Canadiens goalie Michael McNiven makes the stop as Cale Fleury (59) keeps pressure on. Toronto Maple Leafs rookies vs Montreal Canadians rookies in a mini set of games at Ricoh Coliseum. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The 2018 NHL Rookie Showdown is on its last legs with the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs finishing things off at Place Bell.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Montreal Canadiens show up for their final game of the 2018 NHL Rookie Showdown. They started the tournament off against the Ottawa Senators and took a beating losing 4-0. The team also had a scary loss after Jake Evans was on the wrong end of a hit at the hands of Jonathan Aspirot that landed him in the hospital. However, Evans was one of the standouts of the game.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi didn’t have his best performance, but it’s important to remember that was his fourth game on the smaller ice surface. The game comes at you a lot faster and reaction time is key. He was very effective in the faceoff circle and disrupting plays by stealing the puck and converting them into scoring chances.

With the focus so strongly on him and what he can do this season, he’ll most likely be back in the lineup for today’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But that’s on what will stay the same (roster wise). Other players didn’t get a chance to play in Friday’s contest. Cale Fleury for one.

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The 2017 third-round pick is on a mission to force the Montreal Canadiens hand and earn an entry-level contract. With that, he could easily jump to the next level and play for the Laval Rocket instead of returning to the WHL for an overage season. It’ll be important for Fleury to stand out the right way for the Montreal Canadiens to take notice of him.

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Additionally, Michael McNiven should be getting the start after camp invites Stephen Dhillon and Samuel Harvey split the net against Ottawa. McNiven started last season in the ECHL and worked his way up to the minors after some impressive games. Similarly to Charlie Lindgren, McNiven didn’t benefit from the porous defence of Laval and had his numbers take a lot of hits because of it. This will be the beginning of a hopefully improved season for the young goaltender.

Jeremiah Addison, Antoine Waked, and Phelix Martineau will probably draw in as well while Samuel Houde and Scott Walford are still nursing injuries.

The Leafs are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Sens Saturday night. It was a seesaw game as far as goal-scoring went which was fun for those watching, but not so much for the coaching staffs. A lot of their pro players were in the lineup, so it’ll be interesting to see how many, if any, get the back-to-back start.

RDS is providing an online stream for the game again so it’ll be easy to catch the Montreal Canadiens prospects in action.

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Yes, it’s only a prospect tournament game, but a lot can be taken from this leading into training camp next week. Who will stand out and who will stay quiet? That’ll be answered at 3:00 PM ET.

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