The continuation of the Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs rivalry
By Omar L
It’s another Hockey Night in Canada between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs which likely match or surpass the intensity of last game.
Tonight is the second last regular season game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The first two have had the Leafs come out on top in overtime, but both were stellar performances from either side.
Similar to the last time the two teams played, there are greater stakes on deck. The Habs can find themselves only one point behind the Leafs with a victory and create more separation from the other teams in waiting. Montreal has gotten back to the style of play that’s given them success all season coming off a major win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Brendan Gallagher was the star of the show scoring his first career hat trick while Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Tomas Tatar found the back of the net. Carey Price had his usual lights out performance in net and will likely do the same.
Montreal Canadiens
Forward Lines
Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw
Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia
Matthew Peca – Nate Thompson – Artturi Lehkonen
Defence Pairs
Victor Mete – Shea Weber
Mike Rielly – Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak – Jordie Benn
Goaltenders
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
The Leafs are on another cold streak as they’ve lost their last three games. Coach Mike Babcock is trying to keep things in perspective given their strong response against the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals (they lost both).
Nazem Kadri is still out of the lineup with a concussion pushing William Nylander to centre ice. As always, the Leafs look scary on paper but their grey areas lie in their defence, and the Habs will want to take advantage of that from puck drop.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Forward Lines
Zach Hyman – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews– Kasperi Kapanen
Patrick Marleau – William Nylander – Connor Brown
Par Lindholm – Frederik Gauthier – Tyler Ennis
Defence Pairs
Morgan Rielly – Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner – Travis Dermott
Jake Muzzin – Nikita Zaitsev
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
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It’s also important to remember the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are playing too. The Habs won’t lose their playoff spot if the Hurricanes win while they don’t, but they’ll be too close for comfort.