Maple Leafs @ Canadiens: Habs Outworked, Outplayed | RECAP

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Rick Stephens
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Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs Game Recap: Habs Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game Interviews, NHL Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 13, Home Game 6 | Wednesday February 10, 2021
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

2-4

MAPLE LEAFS

Toronto
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Jonathan Drouin – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Tyler Toffoli – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia

Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Corey Perry

Defence pairings

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Alexander Romanov

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Jake Allen

Scratches

Victor Mete, Paul Byron

Taxi Squad

Cam Hillis, Hayden Verbeek, Michael Frolik, Charlie Lindgren

Injuries

 

Game Report

This was billed as the match to decide the best in the North. The two teams have skated to the top of the division since their first meeting on opening night. And on a one game measuring stick, the Canadiens came up well short.

Based on the first two minutes of the game, Habs fans expected a much different result. The second line over the boards for the home team was led by Nick Suzuki. After driving hard to the Toronto net with speed, Josh Anderson scored the game’s first goal just 1:16 following the opening faceoff.

After a very promising start, Montreal looked sloppy and disjointed for the rest of the first period. Fortunately, the Leafs were having their own issues, appearing half asleep. That is, until Phillip Danault went to the box for hooking near the end of the period. While Leafs didn’t score, the potent power-play seemed to spark the rest of the team out of their slumber.

Twice in this game, when the teams were playing 4-on-4, it was the Leaf’s elite talent that took control leading to their first two goals. Toronto put on a puck control clinic, and time and time again won puck battles against players like Danault and Brendan Gallagher. 

The good news for Montreal came from Anderson, who scored his ninth goal of the season. Joel Armia, in his first game back from a concussion was a positive force on the third line. As usual, Artturi Lehkonen was the hardest working player on the ice and as such, did an excellent job getting under the skin of the Leafs.

But there simply weren’t enough players on the team in red outplaying their counterparts. 

Up Next

The Habs won’t have time to dwell on this loss. They will welcome the Edmonton Oilers to the Bell Centre on Thursday night.

Plus / Minus

▲ Josh Anderson, Shea Weber, Tomas Tatar, Artturi Lehkonen

▼ Phillip Danault, Joel Edmundson, Brett Kulak, Alexander Romanov

Game Preview

If you missed the game preview, you can find it here: Maple Leafs @ Canadiens: Battling the Best

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   MAPLE LEAFS
35 Shots 24
47 Face-off % 53
0-for-2 Power Play 0-for-2
8 Penalty Minutes 8
19 Hits 19
51 Corsi For 31
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (8-3-2) 1 0 1 – – 2
Maple Leafs (11-2-1) 0 1 3 – – 4
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Anderson (9), Tatar (4)
  • TOR: Dermott (1), Holl (1), Mikheyev (1), Hyman (4)-ENG
  • MTL: Price (L) 4-2-2
  • TOR: Andersen (W) 9-2-1

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
NHL3stars
  1. Zach Hyman  TOR
  2. John Tavares  TOR
  3. Josh Anderson  MTL

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Montreal Canadiens

Claude Julien

  • “Those were mistakes. We doubled our coverage on a player during the second 4-on-4 goal. We had one player who didn’t take his man in front of the net on the third Toronto goal. Those are mental mistakes that we must correct.”
  • “We didn’t do well because we didn’t win. The goal is to win the game. You have to do good work against every player. We made costly mistakes and that’s why we lost.”

Corey Perry

  • “I think [Frederik Andersen] saw most of the shots, but they played a solid defensive game. You’ve got to give them credit when they play well. We can be better at limiting our turnovers and playing that game down low, getting to the front of the net and crashing the front of the net because every goal, you see where they were scored tonight in that five, 10-foot area of the crease. You have to go there.”
  • “I think we can still play with more intensity and a little bit quicker. I think we’re looking for that pass right now and it’s not there, so we just have to get back to a little grind and a little mucking. There’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season. You’ve just got to be able to handle it.”

Toronto Maple Leafs

Head coach Sheldon Keefe

  • “Defensively today, we didn’t give them very much at all. In fact, I had this as the lowest number of scoring chances we gave up in a game all season. Despite some of the volume, I thought our guys did a really good job protecting the middle of the ice, not giving up any odd-man (rushes). The first goal they got behind us a little bit, but that was really it. They never really got behind us again off the rush.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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