Montreal 5, Toronto 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Referees:
Tom Kowal, Dennis LaRue
Linesmen:
Scott Driscoll, Jean Morin
Attendance:
19625
By SportsDirect Inc.
Canadiens 5, Maple Leafs 2: Max Pacioretty scored twice to give visiting Montreal its first win in three games against Toronto.
Defenseman Alexei Emelin scored in the first period and rookie Brendan Gallagher tipped blue-liner Josh Gorges’ point shot past Ben Scrivens midway through the third to snap a tie for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine games. Carey Price made 21 saves and captain Brian Gionta added an empty-net goal to ice the game.
Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur scored for Toronto, which defeated Montreal 2-1 and 6-0 earlier this season. Scrivens stopped 35 shots but the Maple Leafs saw their three-game home winning streak come to an end.
Pacioretty, who has six goals in his last six games, scored his first of the contest with six seconds remaining in a major penalty to Mike Brown after the puck deflected off his knee as he skated in front of the net. Pacioretty then beat Scrivens with a wrist shot to give the Canadiens a 4-2 lead with 5:34 remaining.
Michael Ryder, who was acquired by Montreal from Dallas along with a third-round pick in exchange for Erik Cole on Tuesday, played 14:34 but didn’t register a shot and finished minus-1. Ryder was drafted by the Canadiens in 1998 and played his first four seasons with Montreal, recording a career-high 63 points in his rookie season of 2003-04.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto G James Reimer dressed and served as the backup. Reimer has not played since straining his left MCL on Feb. 11. … The two Original Six rivals have split each season series since the 2003-04 season, when Toronto won four of six meetings. The five-game series in this truncated season guarantees a winner. … Raphael Diaz, who leads Canadiens defensemen with 13 points on the season, missed the game with a concussion suffered on Monday.
Top Game Performances
Montreal |
|
Toronto |
Max Pacioretty 2 |
Points |
Clarke MacArthur 1 |
Max Pacioretty 2 |
Goals |
Clarke MacArthur 1 |
David Desharnais 2 |
Assists |
Mike Brown 1 |
Max Pacioretty 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Carey Price .913 |
Save Percentage |
Ben Scrivens .875 |
Carey Price 21 |
Saves |
Ben Scrivens 35 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Montreal
|
40 |
5 |
1-2 |
1-1 |
2 |
29 |
Toronto
|
23 |
2 |
0-1 |
1-2 |
15 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
Toronto will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .750 after a loss.
-
Montreal will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .714 after a loss.