Pre Game
After a disappointing loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens look to overcome them and finally clinch a playoff spot.
The Canadiens need to win this game, as well as the Edmonton Oilers need to defeat the Vancouver Canucks; with this happening, the Canadiens will punch their ticket to the playoffs.
With nunneries injuries plaguing the Canadiens, the lineup looks a little bit different:
Tatar – Kotkaniemi – Tatar
Toffoli – Suzuki – Armia
Perry – Staal – Caufield
Lehkonen – Evans – Belzile
Edmundson – Petry
Kulak – Chiarot
Romanov – Merrill
Allen
Game Overview
The Montreal Canadiens look to defeat long time rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in order to punch their ticket to the 2021 playoffs.
First Period
Unlike last game on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens came out strong against the Toronto Maple Leafs and made their mark early.
After a few minutes of dominant pressure, Kulak got the Canadiens on the board. Kulak shot from the blue line and the puck managed to tip off Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin to hit the back of the net.
While there was no more scoring in the period, the Canadiens continued to dominate, looking like a very different team from Thursday night.
The Canadiens headed into the first intermission hoping to keep their lead and look to clinch a playoff spot.
Second Period
The Canadiens quickly took advantage of this momentum as Nick Suzuki scored 31 seconds in to put the Canadiens up by two. The Canadiens were visibly the stronger team as they began the second period.
Unfortunately, the Leafs got a lucky one as Engvall spun and shot one last Jake Allen to bring the Leafs within one. The Leafs slowly picked up more momentum and continued to get more shots off.
The Leafs continued this as William Nylander put one past Jake Allen to tie the game up at two.
With only a few minutes left, Mitch Marner scored off the face off to put the Leafs up 3-2.
The period ended 3-2 and the Canadiens hoped to come back in the third to clinch a playoff spot.
Third Period
The third period actually remained scoreless as both teams looked to get chances.
Neither ended up finding the net, resulting in a 3-2 loss for the Canadiens. This means they are still unable to punch their ticket to the playoffs, giving the Calgary Flames time to catch up.
The Montreal Canadiens next play against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday May 10th at the Bell Center at 7PM EST.
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