What a game.
There was a buzz in the Bell Centre for the opening puck drop on Hockey Night in Canada, and the red-hot Montreal Canadiens came out flying.
Craig Berube’s squad failed to start on time, and the Leafs were fortunate to be down by “just” three goals after 20. However, goals from Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson pulled the Leafs within one heading into the third, and William Nylander deked Samuel Montembeault out of his skates to tie it up in the opening minute of the third.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Auston Matthews and Steven Lorentz followed with third-period goals of their own, and Joseph Woll made huge save after huge save. The start was bad enough to keep the overall team grade at a C+, but the comeback for a 7-3 final made for A+ entertainment.
Player grades
Joseph Woll: A+
Woll let in three goals in the first period, but he was excellent. The Leafs could have easily been down 5-0 heading into the first intermission, as they were an absolute tirefire.
It’s tough to put any blame on Woll for any of the three first-period goals, and he also made a ton of big saves to limit the damage. He robbed Alexandre Carrier 12 minutes in, then made two huge stops following a Max Domi turnover. He also made an impressive save on Cole Caufield with five to go in the opening frame.
Woll stopped all 10 shots that he faced in the second and kept his team in it. He made a miraculous save right before Matthews extended the lead to two, then robbed Caufield a few minutes later. His best save of the night came against Nick Suzuki in the final minutes, and if the game was at Scotiabank Arena, the fans would still be applauding.
Joseph Woll
Are you kidding me? pic.twitter.com/PGKZTqX9ZX
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 19, 2025
William Nylander: A+
Nylander fired a hard one-timer that forced Montembeault to make a great save in the second and then proceeded to set up Jake McCabe for another quality chance.
He scored a highlight-reel goal to tie the game up in the opening minute of the third, then made a heavy play in the offensive zone to give his team a power play a few minutes later. He was robbed of another goal a few minutes later, and it felt like he had completely taken over the game.
WILLIAM NYLANDER 🚨
START THE PERIOD, TIE THE GAME! WHAT A GOAL! pic.twitter.com/wmFXHf91Gk
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 19, 2025
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: A+
He made a nice heads-up play to set up Robertson for a power-play goal at the end of the second and then scored his own power-play goal to give the Leafs the lead in the third. He wasn’t done there, as he made another great play to set up Lorentz’s goal with five to go in the third.
Pontus Holmberg: A+
Holmberg was excellent. He got off to a strong start by winning a puck battle to clear the zone on an early penalty kill and made a beautiful rush to draw a penalty and give his team a power play at the end of the second. The Leafs capitalized on that man advantage to pull within one, and Holmberg picked up a secondary assist on the play. Berube put him on the second line to start the third, and he set up Nylander for an A+ chance six minutes in.
Bobby McMann: A-
McMann took an offensive zone hooking penalty halfway through the first, but his teammates bailed him out. However, he ended up opening the scoring for the team on a two-on-one halfway through the second and was robbed of a second goal on an early third-period power play.
Nick Robertson: A-
Just when it looked like the Habs would keep a two-goal lead heading into the intermission, Robertson went to the high slot and deflected in a pass from Ekman-Larsson. His line played boring minutes at even strength, but he seemed to be playing with plenty of energy.
Steven Lorentz: A-
Lorentz threw a big hit on Matheson early and beat out an icing call in the late second that led to a long sequence of offensive zone time. He sealed the game by extending Toronto’s lead to three with five to go in the third.
Conor Timmins: B
Timmins was on for Montreal’s second goal, as Patrik Laine fired a one-timer through the defender’s legs and past Woll for a power-play goal. However, he threw a big hit on Michael Pezzetta in the early second and was generally solid at even strength.
The shutdown pair (Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev): B
They spent plenty of time in their own end, but ultimately weren’t on the ice for any of Montreal’s three first-period goals. McCabe had a close scoring chance at the end of the second, but it’s ultimately their defensive play that continues to stand out.
David Kämpf: B-
Kämpf was on for Montreal’s second goal, and he was at least partially responsible. He failed to clear the puck all the way down the ice, and the Habs got the puck in the neutral zone and scored seconds later. Despite this, his overall play was fine, and he earned himself an empty-net goal.
Max Pacioretty: C+
He threw two heavy hits halfway through the first but wasn’t overly noticeable at even strength. Marner set him up for an A+ chance on the power play at the end of the second, but Pacioretty wasn’t able to capitalize and was soon hit in the side of the face by a Matthews slap-shot.
Ryan Reaves: C+
Arber Xhekaj declined his fight request at the end of the first and then steamrolled him with a big hit in the neutral zone in the early second.
Morgan Rielly: C
Rielly was on for two of Montreal’s three goals in the first. He’s been rather unlucky lately, but he simply isn’t playing like a $7.5 million player. Berube benched Myers for a large portion of the game, and once again, it feels like the team is searching for a partner for Rielly.
The first line (Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner): D
They were terrible at five-on-five, and Knies took a penalty to negate a power play in the early third. Marner set up Matthews for Toronto’s fifth goal in the third, but they were heavily outplayed for most of the night.
Philippe Myers: D
Myers fell down in the opening minutes, and this led to an A+ chance for Michael Matheson. He was then on the ice for two of Montreal’s three first-period goals, and barely saw the ice after the first intermission.
Max Domi: F
Domi made two terrible giveaways in the defensive zone, and Josh Anderson later walked right around him en route to a highlight-reel goal. Berube eventually took him off the second line, but on the bright side, he picked up a power-play assist by winning a faceoff in the third.
Game Score
What’s next?
Heading home to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday at 7:30 p.m. on Prime.
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
