Maple Leafs score 7 straight goals, come back to top Canadiens

Auston Matthews scored one of seven straight goals by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a come-from-behind 7-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and two assists, Bobby McMann had a goal and an assist and Mitch Marner had two assists. Joseph Woll made 32 saves for Toronto (29-16-2), which trailed 3-0 in the first period.

Despite digging themselves an early hole, McMann said the Maple Leafs believed they weren’t out of the game at that point when asked about the mood in the dressing room during the first intermission.

“A lot of positivity, honestly, recognizing that we weren’t playing our game, that we were not playing up to how we should be,” McMann said. “But a lot of positivity and realizing that we’re a really good team and we’ve shown it many times this year, and if we stick with our plan we’re going to come out on top.”

Toronto scored twice in the second and five times in the third to overcome a three-goal deficit and win against the Canadiens for the third time in the history of the NHL’s longest rivalry.

“It was a big game for both teams,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “Montreal’s been playing extremely well and it showed in the first period, but we got our feet under us and started playing the right way and doing the right things. It was a great comeback win from the guys. Our goaltender led the way, in my opinion.”

Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist for Montreal (22-19-4), which ended a six-game point streak (5-0-1). Sam Montembeault made 27 saves.

“Even after the second, even though they scored two goals, we were still in a good spot, going into the third up 3-2,” Montembeault said. “Obviously they scored two goals right away so I felt like after that the game slipped through our hands. Our execution wasn’t as good after that and they just kept on scoring. I’ve got my part, I had to make those saves.”

It was the most goals allowed by the Canadiens since a 5-4 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 23. Montreal went 8-1-1 in the 10 games between the two losses.

“I think it’s sometimes good to get a little punch in the teeth and kind of remind us how good every team is in the League,” Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson said. “And while saying that, also not losing our confidence or anything like that. I think we can realize that we’ve been playing some really good hockey and that we just need to get back to that.”

Kirby Dach put Montreal up 1-0 at 5:08 of the first period when he one-timed a Kaiden Guhle pass and snapped a shot from the left hash marks to score with a delayed penalty against Toronto.

Laine made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 18:21. He drove a one-timed slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle for his 11th goal in 17 games, his 10th on the power play.

Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki got the assists, the seventh time the pair has combined to set up a power-play goal by Laine.

Josh Anderson pushed it to 3-0 at 18:30, driving to the net to score on a backhand nine seconds after Laine’s goal.

McMann cut it to 3-1 at 9:32 of the second when he drove in on a 2-on-1 with William Nylander and scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle.

Nicholas Robertson drew Toronto within 3-2 with a power-play goal at 18:46. He deflected Ekman-Larsson’s point shot past Montembeault from the slot.

“Those plays are huge to get us going, get us momentum, especially heading into the third period,” Nylander said.

Nylander scored 24 seconds into the third period to tie it 3-3. He drove past Hutson and deked Montembeault to put a backhand into a wide open net.

Ekman-Larsson made it 4-3 at 4:30 with Toronto’s second power-play goal on a wrist shot past Montembeault’s glove from the right point.

Matthews pushed it to 5-3 at 7:58 with the first shorthanded goal of his career on a slap shot from the top of the slot for his fourth goal in three games.

Steven Lorentz scored at 14:45 to make it 6-3, and David Kampf scored the Maple Leafs’ second shorthanded goal into an empty net at 18:26 for the 7-3 final.

“We started well and then they got the momentum in the second period and we just weren’t able to get it back,” Matheson said.

Morning Skate

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