Two days after experiencing “a bad 12 minutes”, the Canadian experienced “a bad six minutes” and the result was the same.
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored four goals in a 5:33 span against Samuel Montembeault in the second period and defeated the Montreal team 4-2 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
The Canadian also gave up four times during the second period on Thursday, in a 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We need to manage the puck better at the end of the ice, simplify our game a little,” said head coach Martin St-Louis regarding his team’s troubles during the middle periods.
“We played some good second periods, but good teams will take advantage of these mistakes,” he added.
In the evening on Saturday, the Canadian occupied 29e rank in the NHL for goals allowed in the second period this season (96) and by virtue of his differential of minus 26.
“We have to play a little differently in the second period because the bench is further away,” said defenseman Mike Matheson, who had two assists. We need to make simpler plays, move the puck forward to avoid getting stuck and tired in our zone. This is where we get ourselves into trouble. »
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield scored to revive the Canadian (29-35-12), who was however unable to close the four-goal gap.
Montembeault stopped only eight shots in 27:54 of play. Cayden Primeau took over and made 18 saves.
“Sam didn’t have it tonight,” St-Louis summed up.
Montembeault was not the only one responsible for the Habs’ misfortunes. The Maple Leafs also played lucky on one goal and took advantage of small errors in defense on two others.
“The bad jump on the second goal hurt,” said defender David Savard. We made a few mistakes and ‘Monty’ would like to review the shots. These are situations where he makes the save 98% of the time. It happens. »
Max Domi, Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann scored for the Maple Leafs (44-23-9). Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves.
The Maple Leafs therefore swept the three-game seasonal series between the two teams.
“We’re probably not as far away from them as people think,” Suzuki said. There were times during this match and others where we controlled the game. When we impose our style, we can be successful against any team. »
“We can’t do it consistently,” he added. Good teams manage to do well during the 60 minutes of play.”
The Canadian was without guards Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj, both with upper body injuries. Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron, who was recalled from the Laval Rocket, replaced them in the lineup.
Up front, Jesse Ylönen gave way to Tanner Pearson.
For the Maple Leafs, forward Mitch Marner returned to action after a 12-game absence due to a lower body injury.
The Canadian will play again on Sunday evening, when he visits the New York Rangers.
A few expensive minutes
The first scoring opportunity was generated by the Maple Leafs, who attacked two on one. Montembeault, however, stopped Knies’ shot with his shield.
The Canadian then repeatedly threatened the opposing net. Samsonov made many good saves, particularly against the Habs’ first line.
Matthews knocked on the door late in the first period. However, he missed the target on a backhand shot after a good feint.
Montembeault also had some luck a few moments later, when McMann hit the post to his right.
The Maple Leafs finally showed opportunism in the second period.
Domi got the ball rolling 2:21 into the second period. He deflected a shot from Ilya Lyubushkin between Montembeault’s pads.
Matthews returned to charge 17 seconds later. His pass to the front of the net deflected against the Savard skate and crossed the goal line.
For Matthews it was a 64e goal this season.
Knies made it 3-0 at 7:20. Montembeault escaped a long shot from William Nylander and Knies scored on the return.
After a fight between Ryan Reaves and Michael Pezzetta, who had stunned David Kampf a little earlier, McMann ended Montembeault’s evening of work by beating him on a throw-in from Marner at 7:54.
The Canadian scored at 9:05 of the second period, on the power play. Suzuki scored with a precise shot from a tight angle after a cross pass from Juraj Slafkovsky.
Caufield then cut the lead to two goals with 1:28 left in the period. He hit the target with a one-timer on a pass from Matheson, who had just rounded the back of the net.
The best scoring chances in the third period belonged to the Maple Leafs. Reaves was frustrated by Primeau, then Matthews hit the post.
However, this did not come back to haunt the visitors.