Despite an amazing performance by Carey Price and Cole Caufield last night, the Montreal Canadiens fell short against the Toronto Maple Leafs and lost Game 3 with a score of 2-1.
The Montreal Canadiens started off the game well, generating good chances, especially Caufield, who hit the crossbar on his first shot. He was even able to get a couple more chances later on in the game, but the Canadiens were just not able to produce.
The Maple Leafs completely dominated the second period, with William Nylander opening the scoring for them, but later on, Nick Suzuki was able to tie the game.
Let’s not forget Price’s paddle save on Jason Spezza. That was out of this world. His overall performance this postseason has been. But, there is one thing that Price can’t help with, and that is to score goals, which is the Canadiens’ biggest struggle right now.
The Leafs later took the lead thanks to a goal by Morgan Rielly, and that was the end of the scoring for both teams.
There’s no doubt if Price could dress as a forward and try to score, he would, but then who would be in net? Ironically, or not so ironically, he’s the Canadiens’ best chance at staying in the playoffs right now, but the rest of the team has to meet him halfway.
He’s been doing his job and so much more these past three games, but if the team can’t manage to help him out by creating good offence, then that’s the end of it. They need to score and defend, and overall, just help their goalie help them, and there’s no doubt they want to do it, but the question is, how?
Maybe playing the youngsters could help for now, or maybe getting defencemen who can move the puck and shoot it. Well, that sounds a lot like Alexander Romanov. And although no one can expect one guy to generate offence on his own, he would be a great addition to the lineup for the playoffs.
Maybe, just maybe, Price, Caufield, and Romanov could be a huge help to get some goals, and I think it’s fair to expect Romanov to play tonight, especially in a back-to-back game, when some skaters might need to rest.
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST will be Game 4 of the series. The Canadiens will be looking to tie the series, while the Leafs will be pushing for a bigger lead, and just like every playoff game, it will be an important one for both teams.