In Toronto, Paul Byron‘s shorthanded goal gave the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 lead just past the midway point of the third period on Thursday.
Carey Price made that stand up in a Game 1 win and 1-0 series lead over the Maple Leafs.
Price made 35 saves in the win.
“That was Carey Price for you, he was an absolute wall tonight,” the Canadiens’ Josh Anderson said. “He loves playing in these big games and in these positions. When it gets to the playoffs, you have to bring it to another level and I think Carey and everyone did that tonight.”
William Nylander was the lone goal scorer for the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs held the Habs scoreless on five penalties.
“The penalties, let’s be honest, it’s playoff time, you can’t just give teams life by giving them power plays,” Toronto’s Nick Foligno said. “It was a really choppy game, nobody gets a feel for it and it takes away from what we are good at which is being a 5-on-5 team and being dangerous holding on to pucks. It seemed like we were parading to the box. We have to find a way to get our offensive flow going.”
John Tavares was stretchered off the ice midway through the first period.
“I’ve experienced a lot of different things, a whole lot of tough injuries and stuff like that in my time as a player and as a coach, but in an empty building like that, that was probably the most uncomfortable situation that I’ve been a part of on the ice,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It was tough to get through. Our players were rattled and concerned.”
Josh Anderson scored early in the opening frame for a 1-0 lead to the Habs.
“We were solid from start to finish,” Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said. “There’s always ups and downs in the game. I thought our second period was a little bit slower and Carey did a great job tonight, he was solid. I thought as a team tonight we were pretty consistent on both sides of the puck and that’s the type of game that we want to play.”
Game 2 is set for Saturday in Toronto.
Jack Campbell made 28 saves in the loss.
“We believe in each other,” Campbell said. “Our offense is a weapon for our team, but Price made some great saves and it just didn’t go our way tonight. I believe in these guys. We all believe in each other and we will be ready to go next game.”
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