Maple Leafs toy with Canadiens in 7-1 decision

In Toronto, the Maple Leafs’ Mitchell Marner and John Tavares each hit for doubles on Saturday in a 7-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.“It’s definitely a cool thing (to have a chance for 100 points),” Marner said. “I try not to focus on stuff like that, but it’s hard when you’re this close and the opportunity is there. We’ll see, I’ll just go out there and try to play my game and see what happens.

“I thought we just played a full 60 minutes, did the right thing. I don’t think we cheated much for offensive; we didn’t give up much. That’s how you’ve got to play.”

Ilya Samsonov made 20 saves in the win.

“The feeling of our group and how they were talking to one another and how focused they were on playing the way they need to play, I really liked that today,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It was a real good feeling behind the bench in terms of how the players themselves, we set the plan and talked about what the expectations were going into the game, and they went out and executed, and made it happen.”

Samsonov left the crease with just over a minute left in the game, he stepped aside for Maple Leafs emergency backup goalie Jett Alexander, who did not face a shot in the relief.

“It was pretty special, pretty nerve-racking obviously, but something I’ll remember,” Alexander said.

Johnathan Kovacevic was the lone striker for the Habs.

Marner and Tavares scored in the first period to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson said. “Especially for these games, we get excited. It’s Saturday night in Toronto, it’s a big rival.

“We get excited for these games, so to go out there and leave ‘Monty’ out to dry and just play the game we did, it’s frustrating. They just came with a lot of pace, which we expected, but we didn’t respond well to it.”

Kovacevic scored in the middle frame to trim the deficit to 2-1.

“I thought we did a great job,” Toronto’s Ryan O’Reilly said. “Especially against a team that’s out of the playoffs. They play a little looser with the chances, but I thought we did just an excellent job of not giving them much. We got out of that first period, we give up just a shot. That’s what you have to do.”

William Nylander and Marner then scored to push the Leafs advantage to 4-1.

“We would love to see (getting to 100 points) happen, that’s for sure,” Tavares said of Marner. “He’s right there, and it’s extremely well deserved for the impact he makes in every facet of the game, and the type of player he is. It’s another First All-Star team and Selke Trophy-worthy type of season. So, good all around, and I have no doubt that if he continues the way he plays and what he does, he’ll get there.”