By Canadian Press

Leafs win spirited pre-season battle 2-1, Canadiens lose Laine

Sep 28, 2024 | 7:54 PM

MONTREAL — The Toronto Maple Leafs have won both NHL pre-season games against the Montreal Canadiens, bringing home a physical 2-1 win on Saturday evening at the Centre Bell.

Nicholas Robertson scored twice for the Maple Leafs, while Kirby Dach scored Montreal’s lone goal late in the third period.

After less than four minutes, the raucous Centre Bell abruptly fell crowd quiet when newly acquired forward Patrik Laine collided with Cedric Pare and Jacob Quillan of the Leafs in what appeared to be a knee-on-knee hit. Laine did not return to the game.

The injury sparked retaliation from Arber Xhekaj whose actions earned him a game misconduct, leaving the Canadiens with a seven-minute penalty to kill.

Including an earlier injury to David Reinbacher, the Canadiens found themselves three players short after less than five minutes.

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Toronto capitalized on the man advantage when Robertson’s shot squeezed past netminder Samuel Montembeault. For the rest of the first frame, the Maple Leafs’ defence shone, killing off three penalties and conceding hardly any dangerous chances.

Montreal started the second period with renewed enthusiasm, committing more to the forecheck. However, rivalry and animosity grabbed the spotlight as the period was littered with scrums after nearly every whistle and two fights, leading to 73 penalty minutes between both teams by the end of the second frame.

Toronto once against shut the door in the Canadiens face during the period, allowing nine shots but killing off three penalties including a dangerous four-on-three in order to keep a 1-0 lead at the second intermission.

The Maple Leafs started the third period with much more progressive play, taking their speed to the Canadiens defencemen and finding enough space to double their lead. After a quick breakout, Robertson found himself alone with the netminder, slipping a shot underneath Montembeault’s arm once again.

Montreal thought they had found an answer less than a minute later, but Cole Caufield was denied by an excellent sprawling save from Dennis Hildeby.

With the goalie pulled the Canadiens continued to pile on the pressure in order to find a way back into the game. They got it with less than two minutes to play after a slick passing play left Dach with a wide open net, cutting the deficit to one.

It was too little too late for the home team however, as the Maple Leafs saw out the final moments of the game to seal the victory.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

Canadiens: Host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2024.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press