In Toronto, the visiting Montreal Canadiens got a goal from Brendan Gallagher with 3:07 left in regulation to send them to a 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs, on Saturday night.
“We were like [two different teams this game],” Gallagher said. “Our coaching staff did a really good job of remaining calm and letting us find our game, but the biggest guy in this one was (goalie) Carey Price. He gives you a chance to win every single game, and you can circle this one. We don’t have a shot in the third period if we don’t have him to settle us down.”
Carey Price made 21 saves for the win.
“We chopped up that puck pretty good and were fighting it in the first period,” Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said. “We were on our heels, and when you lose three out of four and [are] playing one of the better teams in the League — they’re as hot as can be — we were a little tentative. We made a couple adjustments after the first, and in the second we slowly started picking up the pace of our game.”
Mitchell Marner scored the lone goal for the Leafs.
“We didn’t make good on the chances that we earned in the first period,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We had more than enough offense there in the first to blow the game wide open and didn’t capitalize or [it] didn’t go our way. Our game was a mess from there.”
Montreal improved to 9-4-2.
“We were so fortunate that we were only down one,” Gallagher said. “That’s what gave us life, we knew we were one shot away and how that can change momentum. Toffoli scoring that goal was huge for us. Massive goal and a great play by Phillip, and then we’re right back in that game.”
Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Habs.
“We weren’t good in the first two periods that’s for sure, we know that,” Montreal’s Shea Weber said. “Carey kept us in it and stood on his head and gave us a chance to be ourselves in the third.”
Frederik Andersen made 24 saves in the loss.
“They came in with a sense of urgency with the way the last few games have gone for them,” the Maple Leafs’ John Tavares said. “They played hard, just tried to play physical. Obviously, we’re aware of some of the things that we do well. That’s part of it, we’ve seen it throughout the season so far. We have to find a way to break through.”
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