How to watch
Start time: 7:00 p.m. EDT / 4:00 p.m. PDTI in Canada: CBC, Sportsnet East / Ontario / West (English), TVA Sports (French) Streaming: ESPN +, NHL Live, Sportsnet Now The Montreal Canadiens were clearly the second best team in their game against the stacked Florida Panthers on Thursday night, a difference in the level of talent one would expect given their place in the league and the approach of the trade deadline. But the Canadians did not play as if they had less than half the points of their opponent and remained in the match until the last whistle. The end result was a one-goal defeat as they could not stand up in the last minutes to create an equalizer and this is a matter for the team. The five-game winning streak may be several weeks behind them, but four of their last five defeats have been by just one goal, the three before Thursday’s regulation defeat coming in overtime. Keeping two of the top three Atlantic Division teams under control this week, the Habs will try to do the same with the third, as they host second-placed Toronto Maple Leafs to finish a long-term home.
Tale of the Tape
Canadiens Statistics Maple Leafs Canadiens Statistics Maple Leafs 17-37-10 Record 40-18-5 45.9% (26th) Scoring Opportunities for 56.2% (3rd) 2.52 (32nd) Goals per game 3.63 ( 3rd) (3rd) Goals per game 3.02 (17th) 13.9% (30th) PP% 28.3% (1st) 74.8% (28th) PK% 84.4% (5th) 1-1-0 H2H Record 1-1-0 Toronto’s defeats increase after the All-Star break, and it was rarely just a goal. Montreal has a 9-8-3 record since showing in Las Vegas, the Maple Leafs have a slightly better 11-8-2 record, with the worst 79 goals in the NHL allowed in this time frame. The Canadians contributed to those games when they handled the Maple Leafs 5-2 on February 21, confirming the story that the Toronto goalkeeper was not good enough to keep the team on the shortlist. The Leafs turned to candidate Erik Kallgren to cover the leaks, and they are doing quite well so far with a 2-1-1 record, but conceded five goals in their third NHL start on March 19. He is the one who managed the tap from coach Sheldon Keefe for tonight’s match knowing how much the Canadians improved under Martin St. Louis. It was crucial for Toronto that the attack has covered defensive issues, scoring 79 goals from its own goal even in goal difference during this period. Mitch Marner leads the way, taking advantage of Auston Matthews’s exclusion for a few games after a cross on Rasmus Dahlin’s head to keep a three-pointer against 21 games. The main story of Montreal heading into tonight’s game is, once again, injuries. Jonathan Drouin has been placed in the Injured Reserve with an injury to his upper body, in addition to isolation due to COVID-19. Brendan Gallagher will also miss about another week with a lower body injury, and that was the vague diagnosis for Jeff Petry after Thursday’s game. who played a little over 13 minutes before heading to the coaches room. The team did not provide information about him among these other announcements on Friday, so maybe that means he is good to play tonight. It is proof of Alexander Romanov’s work that it was the second-year St. Louis defender who was called up to fill in for Petry. Romanov led all the blue-liners with almost 23 minutes of action, and that with zero seconds of time in power play. He found a way to contribute to the attack independently, launching the shot that Jake Evans threw into the net in the second period. It was his 12th point of the season and his fifth of the last seven games. His attack may be quieter than his timely shots and hard hits, but he is doing well at the end of the season and it is a great use of these finals to allow him to explore this aspect of his game all the time. . continuing to impress in defensive duties.
