Montreal Canadiens: Comeback Bid Falls Short in 5-2 Loss to Toronto Maple Leafs

As the familiar tones of Maxine Nightingale’s 1975 hit “Right Back Where We Started From” rang through Scotiabank Arena, the Montreal Canadiens found themselves with a similar mindset going forward. Looking to rebound from a tough 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, the Canadiens looked tired and worn from three games in four nights stretch, taking a 5-2 loss on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Having been fresh off a three-game winning streak characterized by multiple comeback wins in OT, the Habs put together a for a moment interesting rally which ultimately fell short. For the Leafs, they were well-rested following a two-day break after a 3-2 OT loss to the Canadiens on Monday and certainly looked the part, playing fast, up-tempo hockey that Montreal simply couldn’t keep up with.

21-year old prospect Cayden Primeau was given the starting nod in net to give Jake Allen the night off, but couldn’t hold down the fort against the Leafs’ potent attack, allowing 4 goals on 15 shots before being pulled.

The Montreal Canadiens ultimately fell short once more in a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs

Allen, in spite of his recent heavy workload, filled in admirably in relief, making 20 saves on 19 shots as an Auston Matthews goal late in the third period ended his perfect bid. From the moment the puck was dropped, it became evident Montreal was in need of a rest, as the Leafs struck early, and frequently, putting up four goals in the first period alone.

Former Hab Alex Galchenyuk got the party started with a quick backhander in tight, fooling Primeau on the game’s first shot. Leafs’ captain John Tavares was quick to follow, putting past a bad rebound from Primeau for his 19th goal of the year.

Speedster Pierre Engvall made matters worse with a flubbed shot off the rush that Primeau couldn’t get across in time for, and Mitch Marner pulled off a nice solo effort on the backhand to put things out of perspective.

While Montreal managed to put up a fight after Allen stepped in, with Cole Caufield contributing yet another goal (his third in four games) and Artturi Lehkonen potting one off a broken play in front of Leafs’ goalie Jack Campbell, Matthew’s aforementioned marker sealed the deal.

For the game, Marner, Tavares, and defenseman Jake Muzzin led the way in scoring with two points each, and Campbell put up a solid 19 saves on 21 shots, pushing his impressive campaign to 15-2-2 with a 2.11 GAA.

With this loss, the Canadiens (24-20-9) are now 10 points ahead of the Calgary Flames (22-26-3) for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division, and two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for third place. With just three games left to play, these will be critical to whether Montreal will face the Maple Leafs (34-13-6) or the Edmonton Oilers (32-17-2) in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Montreal will now have Friday off before facing the Leafs once again on Saturday night. The Canadiens will then have one more game versus Toronto before facing the Edmonton Oilers twice to close out the season.