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Maple Leafs @ Canadiens: Costly Mistakes | HABS RECAP

Rick Stephens

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

FINAL | Game 16, Home Game 8 | Saturday February 20, 2021
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

3-5

MAPLE LEAFS

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

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Jonathan Drouin – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson

Tyler Toffoli  – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Tomas Tatar – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia

Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Paul Byron

Defence pairings

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Victor Mete – Alexander Romanov

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Jake Allen

Scratches

Brett Kulak

Taxi Squad

Cale Fleury, Michael Frolik, Corey Perry, Charlie Lindgren

Injuries

None

Game Report

The Canadiens now own the second worst record in the North division and fifth worse home record in the NHL. And this coming after Montreal had a full week of preparation, plenty of practice time to work through all of the nagging issues.

A visibly steamed Claude Julien remotely met the media post-game and offered little in explanation for his team’s poor effort. He cited mistakes which were indeed a problem. 

After an excellent start to the season on the road, the Canadiens have slid in their play and in the standings. Montreal now finds itself 10 points back of Toronto with Winnipeg and Edmonton in between. With expectations raised significantly, Habs fans are getting surly.

With Montreal unable to stay out of the penalty box, they were tempting fate with a potent Leafs power-play lying in wait. Toronto scored three times with the man advantage.

Phillip Danault has seemingly lost any aptitude for playing the penalty-kill. The cardinal rule for defending a 5-on-3 power-play is to defend the seam pass. Danault not only allowed the pass but the recipient was none other than Auston Matthews.

Kotkaniemi stand tall

With Paul Byron scoring his first of the season, Danault remains as the only Habs forward without a goal. In fact, Phil is alongside Victor Mete and Brett Kulak as the only goal-less Canadiens. While Danault fails to contribute offensively or defensively, he played more than 17 minutes in Julien’s lineup tonight.

With Julien setting a precedent by scratching Tomas Tatar for sub-par play one week ago, it is long overdue for Danault to spend some time in the press box.

With his return to the lineup tonight, Tatar looked energized making a great play to spring Jesperi Kotkaniemi for his second goal of the season. Kotkaniemi was the Canadiens best centre on this night. Paul Byron, after a stressful 24 hours on waivers, also had a strong game. 

Up Next

The Canadiens now head to Ottawa for a Sunday night tilt with the Senators.

Plus / Minus

▲ Carey Price, Tyler Toffoli, Paul Byron, Tomas Tatar, Jesperi Kotkaniemi

▼ Jonathan Drouin, Victor Mete, Phillip Danault

Game Preview

If you missed the game preview, you can find it here: Maple Leafs @ Canadiens: Habs Are Back

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   MAPLE LEAFS
33 Shots 27
48 Face-off % 52
0-for-1 Power Play 3-for-3
10 Penalty Minutes 4
44 Hits 17
46 Corsi For 35
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (9-5-2) 0 2 1 – – 3
Maple Leafs (14-3-2) 0 4 1 – – 5
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Kotkaniemi (2), Byron (1), Toffoli (11)
  • TOR: Matthews (17)-PPG, Boyd (3)-PPG, Marner (9), Matthews (18)-PPG, Kerfoot (4)
  • MTL: Price (L) 5-3-2
  • TOR: Andersen (W) 11-3-2

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
  1. Auston Matthews  TOR
  2. Mitch Marner  TOR
  3. Paul Byron  MTL

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Montreal Canadiens

Claude Julien

  • “We made too many mistakes tonight. We weren’t mentally sharp. That’s what hurt us the most. We were skating well and we had our chances. We also created scoring chances. We had enough to win, but we made too many defensive mistakes. Those mistakes were costly. The penalties also played a part in that.”
  • “It was really the decisions that we made that gave Toronto their scoring chances. I’d say we were the ones who gave them the win. Our mistakes cost us the game. Our decisions were very costly.”

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

  • “I saw the puck and I felt the pad was still a little bit in the air. In my opinion, I think that was a good goal. I don’t know 100 percent what the rule is for that, but as long as I’ve been playing, I think that should be called a goal.”

Paul Byron

  • “I wanted to have a better game. I knew that I was capable of giving more. Having a week to practice alongside my linemates was good. I just wanted to play better. But, I’m disappointed with the result.”
  • “We made just a couple of costly mistakes and we didn’t get the kills that we needed. I think we had a lot of chances 5-on-5. We skated well and put pressure. It’s just those little mistakes you make, give up a couple of odd-man rushes and that team makes you pay for it. They have tons of skill with good players. They don’t need tons of opportunities. They just need one chance and they’re going to put the puck in the net. It’s just something we’ve got to learn not to do against them. We know how dangerous they are and we need to be a little bit sharper on that stuff.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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