Maple Leafs rally back from three goals, defeat Canadiens
Hyman scores with 1:50 remaining, Toronto ends three-game losing streak
via NHL.com
Zach Hyman scored his first of two goals with 1:50 remaining in the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs completed a three-goal comeback to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
Hyman put in a rebound at the side of the goal crease from Mitchell Marner’s shot to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead.
William Nylander and Auston Matthews each had a goal and an assist, Tyler Ennis and Andreas Johnsson scored, and Frederik Andersen made 32 saves for Toronto (37-20-4), which ended a three-game losing streak.
“The way that we won the game coming from behind, it’s awesome,” Hyman said. “It’s a good feeling. To be able to score that goal, to get the lead after being down 3-0, is pretty cool. What a win for us to end a losing streak, coming back like we did on a Saturday night against Montreal, it’s a good feeling.”
The victory moved the Maple Leafs within three points of the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division.
“It’s a good win for our team,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “When it’s 3-0 and they’ve got to turn the music on loud because they’re scared what the fans will say, it’s not a good feeling. I thought we were really prepared, but it goes to show you when you’re young and it’s a big game, you get a little off kilter sometimes when you shouldn’t. Just steady on the rudder and get it done.”
Andrew Shaw and Jeff Petry each had a goal and an assist, Tomas Tatar scored, and Carey Price made 31 saves for Montreal (33-22-7), which holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve been through enough adversity as a group; we should understand how to handle it but tonight we failed,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. “We didn’t do a good enough job. You get up 3-0, you should come away with a win.
“But like anything we’ve been through, the only choice we have to really learn from this and make sure it doesn’t happen again because it’s a pretty [lousy] feeling.”
They said it
“We tightened up. We froze even in the third period when we had a one-goal lead. It’s a matter of going out and playing on our toes like we did at the start of the game. We couldn’t even make a play; I don’t know why, but we need to learn to manage these situations much better than we have.” — Canadiens coach Claude Julien
“It’s really fun to be a part of. You don’t see too many friendships on the ice and you definitely like to beat them on a night like this. I feel like every time we play them, it goes to the next level, especially this year [when] for the first time in a while, both teams have been competitive.” — Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen
Need to know
The Canadiens were without forward Jonathan Drouin, who was a late scratch because of the flu. … Marleau played in his 1,636th NHL game, passing Scott Stevens for eighth on the all-time games played list. … Andersen won his 99th game with the Maple Leafs, moving him past John Ross Roach for eighth place on their all-time wins list for goalies. … Toronto rallied back from three or more goals to defeat Montreal in a regular-season game for the second time in Maple Leafs history and first since March 26, 1969.
What’s next
Canadiens: At the New Jersey Devils on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Monday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
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