Canadiens Lineup

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Artturi Lehkonen – Max Domi – Nick Suzuki

Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia

Paul Byron  – Nate Thompson – Jordan Weal

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Cale Fleury

Carey Price – Keith Kinkaid

Nick Cousins, Mike Reilly, Christian Folin

Noah Juulsen (headaches), Michael McCarron (shoulder), Joel Teasdale (knee)

Game Report

There is almost nothing better than the Montreal Canadiens facing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada on a Saturday night.

Winning the game after a third period comeback and an exciting shootout is definitely better.

After two periods, it wasn’t looking good for your Habs. They were playing sloppy and making poor decisions with the puck. And the Montreal defence was atrocious.

But sometime during the second intermission, the Canadiens remembered that they were the fresh team. And that the Maple Leafs were playing the second night of a back-to-back, their third game in four nights, with their number two goalie between the pipes.

Cue the comeback.

The Habs took advantage of a fatigued Leafs team scoring four straight goals in under ten minutes of the third period. After Toronto tied the game with a late power-play goal, the stage was set for the Canadiens to earn their first win of the season in the shootout.

It’s difficult to adequately state how important Carey Price was for the win. He was the best player on the ice. Price was outstanding during the first 60-minutes but that is only part of the story.

Price made three great saves on Mitch Marner and John Tavares, two on breakaways, in the overtime period. And Price was perfect facing, Auston Matthews, Marner and Tavares in the shootout.

It was a tough night for the rookies with the Leafs exploiting mistakes by Cale Fleury and Nick Suzuki. But the young players had company, particularly on the Habs defence. Ben Chiarot, Victor Mete and Brett Kulak struggled. Against a high power offence like the Leafs, the subpar level of play proved costly.

But sometimes having the third easist schedule in the NHL comes in handy. Credit the Canadiens who took full advantage when their back was against the wall.

The Canadiens play the third game of their road trip on Wednesday in Buffalo when they face the Sabres.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault

▼  Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak, Cale Fleury, Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nate Thompson