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There were two games on tap for Saturday. Two Original Six, Canadian rivals were squaring off in front of fans in Canada for the first time since COVID began. It was a game to remember, and the Habs made sure that the first-round of the playoffs wasn’t quite over just yet. Another Original Six team, the Boston Bruins, welcome the New York Islanders to town, and they kicked off the second round with an emphatic win on home ice. Let’s get started!
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Montreal Canadiens 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (OT)
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a playoff series since 2004. After Saturday, they still haven’t.
The Leafs took a 3-1 series lead with a 4-0 win in Montreal behind Jack Campbell on Tuesday. They haven’t won since, and now the Canadiens have forced a decisive Game 7 to be played on Monday night back in Toronto.
Campbell wasn’t the problem for the Leafs in this battle. He and Carey Price were exchanging donuts through the first 45 minutes which would make Tim Horton proud. But the Leafs became a little unhinged in the third, and the Habs power play finally showed up and made them pay.
Corey Perry opened the scoring on the man advantage at 5:26 of the third to make it 1-0, helped out by Tyler Toffoli. The latter returned with a power-play goal of his own, with apples to Nick Suzuki and Jeff Petry at 6:43 of the third, making it 2-0. The hand wringing across Leaf Nation, which is an annual happening since 1967, started hot and heavy.
However, the Leafs made a valiant comeback in front of 2,500 fans who were allowed inside Bell Centre, the first paid Canadian fans to see a sporting event since the COVID pandemic began. The mostly red, white and blue (or is it bleu?) fans were stunned as Jason Spezza and T.J. Brodie notched a pair of goals in a 5:14 span late in the period to force overtime.
Campbell and Price were again exchanging donuts in the extra session, with Price seeing a bulk of the work. Ilya Mikheyev and Pierre Engvall had strong overtime sessions, as they tried to make things happen. And at one point, Price had to slam down his right leg pad to close off the pipe. The Habs’ season was hanging in the balance, and literally an inch from being over. Price stopped the shot, and the season continued.
After a bad turnover in the Leafs end, Jesperi Kotkaniemi made them pay, wiring one past Campbell for the winner to make it 3-2.
We get a decisive Game 7 between these Canadian rivals on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC. It’s the first all-Canadian Game 7 since 2004 when the Leafs and Ottawa Senators squared off.
The Canadiens are trying to erase a 3-1 series deficit for the third time in franchise history, and first time since 2004 against the Boston Bruins.
Boston Bruins 5, New York Islanders 2
Speaking of the Bruins, they were kicking off their second-round series against rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin and the Islanders on Saturday evening.
Things got off to a decent start for the Islanders, as Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 11:48 of the first period for the 1-0 lead. David Pastrnak answered back with just 24 seconds remaining in the period, also on a power play, getting one past the rook.
In the second period, Pasta was back with a second goal at 11:08 of the second with a little help from his friends Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and the B’s were enjoying their first lead of the day. It was short-lived, however, as Adam Pelech scored just 86 seconds later with help from Leo Komarov and Jordan Eberle to make it 2-2. That’s how the teams headed to the room after 40 minutes, too.
In the third, Charlie McAvoy struck for a goal at 6:20 of the third period with the only helper to Krejci. That ended up standing up as the game-winning tally, as the Isles weren’t heard from again.
Pastrnak picked up an unassisted goal at 15:50 of the third, giving him a second-career postseason hat trick. He is behind only Phil Esposito (4), Johnny Bucyk (3) and Cam Neely (3) on the franchise’s playoff trick list.
Taylor Hall also added a power-play goal to put a bow on the scoring, as Mike Reilly and Krejci helped out. The latter ended up with three apples on the evening.
That was more than enough help for Tuukka Rask, who ended up with 20 saves on 22 shots in the win.
Game 2 is set for Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
