In Montreal, the Canadiens’ Jake Allen made 23 saves and bounced back from a two-goal outburst from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, to win, 4-2.
“It’s something to build off, that’s all it is,” Allen said. “You can’t get too high on one win. You’ve just got to keep building and find a way to get better every day. And I think there’s room for that.”
Tomas Tatar struck for two goals as the Habs took a 2-0 lead then squandered that before rallying back for two more.
John Tavares and Auston Matthews scored for the Leafs in the middle frame to get even with Montreal.
“We just weren’t ready to go today, and that’s my job,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “The coach’s job is to get the team ready to play. We weren’t ready to play, so that one falls on me.”
Tatar and Nick Suzuki gave the Habs a 2-0 lead in the first period.
Montreal regained the lead late in the second period, on a goal from Josh Anderson, at 3-2.
“It was important for us as a team to bounce back,” the Canadiens’ Phillip Danault said. “We knew we had a little slump and we showed a lot of character tonight. We were a bit hesitant in the second period, but we recovered and started winning battles again, so it was a big character win. And you have to give Jake credit, too. He made big saves and gave us a chance to win.”
Tatar ended the scoring in the game with an empty-net strike.
“We really wanted to come out tonight and set the pace and start off the period the right way,” Anderson said. “And I thought we did that for the most part. Obviously they made a good push in the second, but I thought we did a lot of good things tonight.”
Jack Campbell made 21 saves in his first loss of the season after 11 straight wins.
“I just think I wanted it all too bad and sometimes that doesn’t all work in your favor,” Campbell said. “Just let the game come to me, and when I do that everything works out.”
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