Although last night’s game didn’t start on a bad note at all, something completely changed during the game and the Montreal Canadiens seemed to be missing something in their play.
After being scratched for Game 1, Jesperi Kotkaniemi made his first appearance of the playoffs yesterday to replace Jake Evans who’s out with an undisclosed injury. Probably just like Eric Staal and Joel Armia wanted to prove they belonged in the lineup in Game 1, Kotkaniemi wanted to do the same and sure impressed, scoring the first goal of the game, which would also turn out to be the Montreal Canadiens’ only goal of the night.
However, before the first period could end, the Toronto Maple Leafs retaliated and not only tied the game, but got involved physically, with two big hits ending the first period. The physicality wasn’t just present in this period, though. Up until the dying seconds of the game, the physicality and rivalry were there and Shea Weber and Pierre Engvall even got ejected from the game, each with a 10-minute misconduct.
A lot of pushing, shoving, and even punching (with the gloves on) was happening between Joel Edmundson and Wayne Simmonds, and it will probably keep getting more intense between the two as the series advances. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to drop the gloves in their next matchup.
In the second period, Auston Matthews finally got his first goal of the series, giving Toronto the first lead of the game. Rasmus Sandin then gave them an even bigger lead, scoring on the powerplay, which had been struggling for some time.
But, something that left most fans scratching their head at was when Head Coach Dominique Ducharme boldly decided to challenge Sandin’s goal for goaltender interference. Where did he – or Marc Bergevin – see any interference? That’s what everyone was wondering. The challenge was, evidently, unsuccessful, and Montreal took its fourth penalty of the period.
Now on to the third period, and it’s more of the same. More penalties and more goals from the Leafs. Ultimately, the Canadiens lost the game with a score of 5-1, the series now tied 1-1, meaning it’s still anyone’s to take.
Overall, the Leafs dominated in every aspect of the game, except hits, which the Canadiens had the upper hand on with 44-36.
Shots on goal were 34-23 in Toronto’s favour, and their powerplay was 2/6 as opposed to the Montreal Canadiens 0/1.
Considering two of the Leafs’ goals were scored on their powerplays, it will be crucial for the Canadiens to be more careful and to avoid taking penalties when they can. But the numbers are striking: six penalties for Montreal, and one for Toronto.
The Playoffs are usually known for being a lot more lenient with the rules than the regular season. But if referees want to call everything, it cannot be one-sided and all penalties should then be called for both teams, which was not the case last night. What particularly shocked me was, after there was no call on the hit on Kotkaniemi’s number, pushing his body and head into the boards. Luckily, he was okay though.
However, if everything is going to be called in this series, not only will the Canadiens need to be careful, but they will also have to work on their penalty kill because sometimes penalties are just unavoidable. But, considering their penalty kill has been pretty good all season long, it’s fair to say they were just not having a good night. The only issue is that there is no time for bad games in the playoffs.
Another big part of the Montreal Canadiens’ loss yesterday was their offence or their lack thereof. They struggled to score, and that was mostly because they struggled to generate good offence and scoring chances. And who could help, you ask?
Cole Caufield.
Ducharme had said a few days ago that Caufield might play in the postseason, and I don’t see a better debut than in Game 3. The players, the coaches, and the fans have all seen Caufield’s ability to find open-ice and the back of the net, for that matter.
The third game of the series is next Monday, May 24, and if the Canadiens want a real shot at beating the Leafs in this round, they might just have to bring in Caufield and let him do his thing. After all, he brings a lot of positive energy, and that’s never a bad thing to have on the ice.