Depth scoring helps Maple Leafs defeat Canadiens
Matthews gets assist for point in 11 straight, Toronto wins fourth in row
Justin Holl and Ilya Mikheyev scored 42 seconds apart in the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs won their fourth straight, 4-2 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Wednesday.
Frederik Andersen made 33 saves in his seventh straight start, and Jake Muzzin had three assists for Toronto (11-2-1), which has points in each of its past nine games (8-0-1).
Auston Matthews, who had scored in each of his previous eight games, got an assist when Zach Hyman scored into an empty net to make it 4-2 with 1:04 remaining for a point in 11 straight games (15 points; 11 goals, four assists).
Josh Anderson and Tomas Tatar scored for Montreal (8-3-2), which has lost three of six since starting 5-0-2. Carey Price made 20 saves.
Toronto tied it at 1-1 at 15:18 of the second period after the Canadiens were unable to get the puck out of their zone during 4-on-4 play.
Dermott, who missed the past two games because of a leg injury, scored on a wrist shot over Price’s right shoulder for his first goal in 37 games since Jan. 2, 2020.
Mikheyev put the Maple Leafs up 2-1 at 1:50 of the third when he scored his first goal since Dec. 27, 2019 during another 4-on-4 sequence.
John Tavares set up Holl’s goal that made it 3-1 with a pass back to the right point. Holl carried the puck towards the middle and scored his first goal of the season on a rising slap shot from the top of the slot at 2:32.
Tatar drew the Canadiens within 3-2 with his fourth goal at 16:40.
Anderson scored for a fourth straight game on Montreal’s first shot of the game. He drove the right side and scored his ninth goal on a shot between Anderson’s pads for a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the first period.
Anderson has six points (five goals, one assist) during a five-game point streak.
Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner’s point streak ended at eight games (15 points; three goals, 12 assists).
Tallied three in the third to top the Canadiens.
Tonight’s @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/OkkRDMhxC0
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 11, 2021
The @MapleLeafs (8-0-1) posted a point streak of 9+ games in consecutive seasons for the fourth time in franchise history (10 GP in 2019-20). The others:
1992-93 (10 GP) - 1993-94 (10 GP, 11 GP)
1965-66 (9 GP, 10 GP) - 1966-67 (10 GP)
1961-62 (9 GP) - 1962-63 (10 GP)#NHLStats pic.twitter.com/1SKFT3aK89— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 11, 2021
So the #Leafs will have a day off (tomorrow) and practice day (Friday) before facing Montreal again (Saturday), then it's three straight against OTT, before Montreal -again-.
And then no #Leafs-Habs until April.
Enjoy it now!
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) February 11, 2021