Face-off of the prospects | Maple Leafs beat Canadiens 4-3 in shootout

(Montreal) The Toronto Maple Leafs prospects won the first round of the Prospects Face-off against the Montreal Canadiens 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre.

Fraser Minten scored the winning goal in the shootout.

Adam Engström, Tyler Thorpe and Owen Beck scored in regulation for the Canadiens. Samuel Richard stopped 24 shots.

Braeden Kressler, Minten and Easton Cowan replied for the Maple Leafs. Dennis Hildeby made 35 saves.

Defenseman Lane Hutson was particularly impressive in the Canadiens camp. The 2022 second-round pick made several nice moves in the offensive zone and fed his teammates well.

Engström also did well in his North American debut, particularly in the first half.

The trio of Beck, Emil Heineman and Sean Farrell were the most effective in the home side’s camp. They were particularly threatening in the third period.

The two teams will face off again on Sunday. The Canadiens’ rookie camp ends on Tuesday. Preseason camp begins the following day, when players will undergo physical testing.

Players stand out

Arber’s younger brother Florian Xhekaj quickly left his calling card, throwing down the gloves in front of Chas Sharpe after less than two minutes of play.

Hutson wowed the crowd moments later with a beautiful fake past a rival on the Maple Leafs blue line.

Engström was guilty of a slightly risky call at the blue line, which allowed the Maple Leafs to counterattack two-on-one. David Reinbacher was penalized, tripping Cowan while diving to try to steal the puck.

Kressler took advantage of the power play to beat Richard on the glove side at 4:48.

Hutson made another nice play in the offensive zone a little later. He made a nice cross-country pass to Jared Davidson, but Hildeby made the save.

Engström tied the game at 1-1 at 12:15, taking advantage of a pass from Charles Savoie towards the slot. The Swede beat Hildeby on the glove side.

This time, Hutson was at fault at the Leafs’ blue line, allowing Cowan to once again slip into the opposing zone. The Toronto prospect, however, missed the target.

The Maple Leafs regained a 2-1 lead with 2:12 left on another power play. Minten’s feed toward the front of the Canadiens net deflected off defenseman Owen Protz and into the net.

Emil Heineman was caught by Hildeby early in the second period. After taking control of a long pass from Logan Mailloux, Heineman orchestrated a two-on-one attack and opted for a shot that the goalie caught with his glove.

The Maple Leafs scored again on the power play at 7:56. Cowan scored with a one-timer between Richard’s pads.

The Canadiens cut the deficit to 3-2 at 9:33. Thorpe scored on a similar play.

Beck then tied the game 3-3 with 2.3 seconds left on the clock. His shot sailed through Hildeby’s equipment and just crossed the goal line.

Heineman knocked on the door twice early in the third period. Hildeby made a nice save with his right pad on the first opportunity, then Heineman missed the target after that.

Beck set up Heineman with just under six minutes left on the clock, but Hildeby shut the door again.

After the subsequent faceoff, Hildeby did the same to Davidson, who thought he could deflect a pass from Filip Mesar into an open net.

Hildeby continued to put on a show by stealing a sure goal from Savoie on a pass from Hutson with 2:32 left on the clock.

Minten finally made the difference in the shootout.