Dennis Hildeby filled in admirably as the next man up in goal, but his teammates offered little offensive support as Toronto fell to Montreal 2-1 in a shootout Saturday night at ScotiaBank Arena.
The Maple Leafs showed some jump at the beginning, matching chances with the Canadiens throughout the first period. However, neither team managed to score in the first twenty.
The Canadiens took over in the second, outshooting Toronto 14 to 3 and capitalising on the power play to make it 1-0 at the 8:25 mark. Cole Caufield snuck behind the Leaf defenders and converted a backdoor pass from Juraj Slafkovsky into the net.
Toronto picked up its game in the third period and tied the score on a Scott Laughton shorthanded goal at 10:28. The Oakville, Ontario native took a feed from Nicolas Roy and raced by the Canadiens’ defence, blasting the puck past Jakub Dobes to make it 1-1. That was the score at the end of regulation.
Overtime proved fruitless, so they went to a shutout where Caufield and Alexandre Texier scored for the Canadiens. Auston Matthews netted a goal for Toronto, but William Nylander and John Tavares were stoned by Dobbs, giving Montreal the 2-1 win.
Next up: Toronto takes on the Atlantic division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night at ScotiaBank Arena.
