Leafs Win the North Division

 

Last night the Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens would meet for the final time this regular season but let’s be honest these two rivals will likely meet again in the opening round of the playoff in the next few weeks. Jack Campbell would get the start in goal and Jake Allen would be between the pipes for the visiting Canadiens. This game had a level of importance to it as with a win the Leafs would guarantee a first-place finish in the division and if Montreal collected just a single point, they would finally clinch their spot to the playoffs. Before the game it was reported that Philip Danault was out indefinitely with a concussion so prospect Alex Belzile would make his debut.

 

The game would get off to the greatest of starts if you are a fan of the Leafs there is no doubt Montreal fans were excited over the start for their Habs as unlike the previous meeting where the Leafs got off to the quick start it would be Montreal taking control of the game early on and just three minutes into the game the Montreal Canadiens would open the scoring as Brett Kulak would score his second goal of the season as his shot would beat a screen Jack Campbell and picking up his first point in the NHL thanks to an assist is the debuting prospect Belzile. With the Leafs now trailing 1—0 their sluggish play would continue as Montreal would continue to have the upper hand in this matchup as the Leafs would fail to complete passes causing them to turn the puck over but thankfully Jack Campbell was focused on the task at hand, and he would manage to bail his team out on more than one occasion. The first period ended with the Leafs trailing by only a goal and Toronto would head to the dressing room looking to forget about that first period as quick as possible.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Leafs as just thirty-one seconds into the middle frame Montreal would come in on a 2 on 1 rush after Jake Muzzin was beaten on a pinch as Suzuki would send a knuckle puck fluttering to the net, Jack Campbell would get a piece of the shot, but it would sneak under his blocker and into the back of the net expanding the Canadiens lead to 2-0. With the Maple Leafs trailing by two goals and Montreal seemingly in total control I am sure many Leaf fans like myself thought we could possibly be in for a long night. However we would be mistaken as with just 5 minutes played in the second period Toronto would start climbing their way back into the game and Pierre Engvall who is trying to keep his spot in the lineup when playoffs roll around would help his cause as he would send a shot along the ice through traffic and passed Jake Allen who had trouble tracking the puck and the Habs lead would be cut in half as Engvall scored his 6^th goal of the season. After this goal, the tide would begin to turn, and momentum would begin to switch to the home team and Toronto would start to cut into the shot clock and start spending more time in the offensive zone. Midway through the second the Maple Leafs would find themselves level. Jake Muzzin would send a quick pass to John Tavares who would be standing in the slot, Tavares would deflect the Muzzin pass to William Nylander who would shovel the puck into the net finishing off a beautiful passing play and collecting his 17^th goal of the year. So, with the game now level the Montreal Canadiens seemed shell shocked Toronto would be pressuring for the go-ahead goal and their first lead of the contest. We fans would not have to wait long as just minutes later there would be a faceoff in the Montreal zone. Now usually when the duo of Matthews and Marner team up it is Marner who usually sets up Matthews for the highlight reel goal but this time the roles would be revered, and Matthews would set up Marner for the goal as Auston would win the faceoff and Mitch Marner would quickly fire a shot passed an unexpecting Jake Allen for Marner’s 20^th goal of the season giving Toronto the 3-2 lead.  The horn would sound, and Toronto would head into the third period leading 3-2 and see themselves just twenty minutes away from locking up first place. I want to also mention quickly that with his 20^th goal Marner would collect his 67^th point matching his total from last year.

The third period would see the Leafs play a defensive game just aiming to run down the clock and finish off the season series. For majority of this third period things were uneventful untill the final seconds of regulation when Montreal had a few last second chances to tie the game but goalie Jack Campbell would shut the door and Toronto would win the game and for the first time in 21 seasons the 99-00 season to be exact the Toronto Maple Leafs have won their division.

 

I now would like to take some time and provide an update on Freddie Andersen’s conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies. Yesterday afternoon he would play the entire game against Manitoba he would stop 34-38 shots in regulation and overtime but the Marlies would unfortunately fall in the shootout. Now I thought Andersen for the most part played alright sure there were some goals he would like back but there is a reason the Marlies are sitting last in their division, simply put they are terrible defensively yesterday there were too many times Freddie had the puck carrier come in all alone because there was no defensive presence to help him out. I by no means am saying that after this result that Freddie is ready to be the number one goalie for the Leafs on their postseason run but for only his second appearance in six weeks things look to be improving for Andersen. This afternoon the Marlies and Manitoba Moose square off again and Freddie is expected to see some more action in the third and final game of this current conditioning stint.

In closing the Maple Leafs now prepare for a Wednesday night matchup against their Provincial rivals the Ottawa Senators I the final round of this seasons Battle of Ontario. With first place locked up I would hope we see Sheldon Keefe rest a lot of his main players because Wednesday’s game and Friday season finale against Winnipeg have no meaning to the Leafs and I like most fans would hate to see important players get injured in a meaningless game when they are missing enough bodies already.

 

As always thanks for reading and remember to wish your mom a happy Mother’s Day.