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Three games left in the regular season, and the Canadiens are still holding down a playoff berth–it’s been eight years, believe it or not, since this was the case in a full NHL season. A regulation win against the hated Maple Leafs would clinch them the playoff entry, but the team would surely need something more than the anemic effort of Friday night’s Ottawa game.

It felt like a playoff game, and it was close throughout regulation. Jakub Dobes kept the Habs in the game, and the two teams were scoreless at the end of sixty minutes, the first time the two teams had combined to do this since 1957, back then with Ed Chadwick and the legendary Jacques Plante in net. Alas, the overtime didn’t go quite as well, as Mitch Marner managed to beat Dobes 36 seconds into the extra period.

Starting Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Laine – Newhook – Kapanen
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher
Pezzetta – Evans – Armia

Guhle – Hutson
Matheson – Carrier
Struble – Savard

Dobes
Montembeault

Ten Thoughts

1) Where was this team on Friday? The effort was visible immediately, as the team got through a minute, then five and then a full twenty without giving up a goal, but that alone isn’t going to be enough to hold off the Toronto firepower. The players were back to playing the Martin St-Louis way, playing responsible defence, avoiding high-risk plays and making organized breakouts from their own zone.

2) In the shocking news item of the first period, Michael Pezzetta drew a penalty rather than heading off to the box himself. Six minutes into the period, Pezzetta had parked himself just outside the blue ice ahead of the Toronto net, ready to cause havoc in front of Anthony Stolarz. Philippe Myers thought that a bit too presumptuous and gave Pezzetta a solid check from behind with his stick. To Pezzetta’s credit, he restrained from responding.

3) There was no scoring on the power play created by the penalty Pezzetta drew, but they did manage seven shot attempts, with Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield’s shots actually reaching Stolarz. Alas, those two were the only two saves Stolarz had to make all period.

4) So, as has been the case all week, the Habs were badly outshot in the first period, the Leafs outshooting them 10-2 in this case. And yet, the shots are far from telling the whole story: the Canadiens actually outdid Toronto on shot attempts at 20-18, but the problem they struggled with was the Maple Leafs keeping the shots well to the outside, and the majority of those were blocked by the Toronto defenders. Still, the Canadiens managed to hold a 6-4 edge in high-danger scoring chances.

5) Kaiden Guhle was playing his physical best in the second period, delivering punishing–but legal–hits first on Bobby McMann, and then on John Tavares. Max Domi decided that was unacceptable, jumped onto the ice and dropped his gloves, challenging Guhle. Guhle’s no pugilist but he held his own against his shorter but more experienced opponent. Alas, the Habs did not manage even a shot attempt during the ensuing two-minute advantage.

6) It was a different story soon thereafter when Brendan Gallagher was called for holding Calle Jarnkrok. The Habs had their top penalty killing unit, with Evans and Armia, on the ice, but this time they were unable to gain control of the puck to clear the zone. Six shots on Jakub Dobes in those two minutes–plus two more blocked–but the rookie goaltender made some of his best saves of the night so far to turn away all of them.

7) Pezzetta made up for having drawn a penalty rather than taking one in the third: as he was skating along the boards into the defensive zone, holding off Scott Laughton, he fell down, which is not so bad, but he grabbed Laughton’s stick as he fell down, gifting a power play opportunity to Toronto. Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak played an excellent first shift on shorthanded, repeatedly clearing the puck, but then Anderson tangled with Tavares, and both were sent off with coincidental minors. Worse yet, with 18 seconds remaining on the Pezzetta penalty, a referee put up his hand for a slashing penalty to David Savard, who had done nothing that hadn’t been done fifty times already in this game. And yet, the bleu blanc et rouge survived yet again.

8) Lane Hutson did not score or assist on a goal in this one, but that doesn’t mean that he did not have an impact. With six minutes remaining, after a Guhle shot attempt missed the target, Matthew Knies broke into a two-on-one rush. Hutson defended the rush perfectly, keeping Knies next to the right-side boards. When Knies stopped to do a spin-around and pass the puck, Hutson anticipated his move and blocked the pass with his stick, breaking up the Toronto attack. An extraordinary player indeed, with far more than just offence, even in his rookie year.

9) A full sixty minutes passed without either Dobes or Stolarz allowing a puck to pass, and it was certainly not for a lack of effort on either side: the two teams each had 56 shot attempts, and in the final frame the Habs finally managed to put some on Stolarz, recording eight shots on net. This was playoff intensity, and a game worth of the traditional Habs-Leafs rivalry.

10) Nick Suzuki had a beautiful break-through chance at the start of overtime, but a sprawling Stolarz managed to get his left pad in the way of Suzuki’s shot. And 14 seconds later, it was all over, as Mitch Marner converted a William Nylander pass into a goal to seal a 1-0 overtime victory for Toronto.

HW Habs Three Stars

First Star: Jakub Dobes (35 shots, 34 saves, .971 save %, +3.17 GSAx) played probably the best game of his young NHL career, possibly apart from his debut against Florida. His saves were closer to the style of Dominik Hasek than Carey Price, and he gave up a lot of rebounds, but he kept the puck out of the net throughout regulation, and ultimately that is what matters. Dobes might yet get a chance to play against Carolina if the Habs can clinch the playoff shot in their next game against Chicago.

Second Star: Kaiden Guhle (0g, 0a, 0 shots, +0, 17:55 TOI) played a strong, physical game, made good decisions with and without the puck and made his presence felt. Guhle’s game has been continuously improving since returning from injury, and he looks very much ready to play a big role in the playoffs.

Third Star: Joel Armia (0g, 0a, 0 shots, +0, 13:35 TOI) was a force again on the penalty kill with Jake Evans, but what stood out was his solid play five on five: while Armia was on the ice, the Habs did not give up a single high-danger scoring chance to the Leafs, and only one scoring chance overall. The big Finn’s career in Montreal is likely approaching its end, but he is continuing to contribute to the team’s drive for the playoffs.