Guhle Stands Out for the Canadiens | RECAP: TOR @ MTL

GAME RECAP | Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens

Forward lines
22 Cole Caufield  14 Nick Suzuki  15 Alex Newhook
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard  77 Kirby Dach  20 Juraj Slafkovsky
24 Lias Andersson  86 Riley Kidney  51 Emil Heineman
55 Michael Pezzetta 61  Philippe Maillet  57 Sean Farrell 

Defense pairings
21 Kaiden Guhle  64 David Reinbacher
84 William Trudeau  26 Jonathan Kovacevic
59 Mattias Norlinder  52 Justin Barron  

Goaltenders
35 Sam Montembeault
75 Jakub Dobes

Out of the lineup
Scratches: Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Owen Beck, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher,  Sean Monahan, Tanner Pearson, Jesse Ylonen, Jordan Harris, Gustav Lindstrom, Logan Mailloux, David Savard, Arber Xhekaj, Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau.

Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body), Mike Matheson (lower body)

The Toronto Maple Leafs came to Montreal and recorded rare back-to-back road victories. For each game, the Canadiens dressed a far more talented lineup than the visitors but could manage just a single goal.

Alex Newhook added speed and spunk to the Canadiens top line. Playing on the wing, Newhook sparked the play of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, making theirs the most dangerous line for the Canadiens in this game. 

But the lack of success with the man advantage continued for the Montreal snipers. The most used members of the Canadiens power play in this game — Suzuki, Caufield, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Kirby Dach and Mattias Norlinder — could get nothing going. For the two games in Montreal against the Leafs, the Habs power play was 0-for-11.

Kaiden Guhle was a bright spot for the Canadiens, scoring the team's only goal and leading the team with four blocked shots. Guhle also served as an anchor for David Reinbacher who continues his difficult adjustment to NHL style of play. Reinbacher remarked that he was "really grateful to Guhle" and called Kaiden one of the smoothest skaters he had seen.

Jonathan Kovacevic also played a strong game serving as an on-ice mentor to William Trudeau.

In goal, Jakub Dobes delivered another solid effort coming into the game in the third period for a struggling Sam Montembeault. In two games, Montembeault has not looked at all like the goaltender who is capable of challenging Jake Allen for the number one position giving up multiple soft goals.

The Canadiens have dressed far superior lineups for four games at home and have managed just one win. Special teams have been an issue, particularly the power play. If a prospect hadn't made any progress in three seasons, what would be done? Perhaps Alex Burrows knows. 

Canadiens (1-3-0)
Shots: 34
Face-off %: 61.4
Power play: 0/5
Penalty minutes: 8
Hits: 20
Blocks: 13

Maple Leafs 
Shots: 22
Face-off %: 38.6
Power play: 1/4
Penalty minutes: 10
Hits: 20
Blocks: 26

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Guhle (1)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Maple Leafs Scorers
1st period: Knies (2)
2nd period: Minten (1)-PPG, Robertson (1)
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
MTL: Montembeault (L), Dobes
TOR: Jones (W)

Kaiden Guhle

Jonathan Kovacevic

Alex Newhook

Marty St. Louis: "We had a few chances in the first, but then we forced plays and we didn't generate enough chances."

Check out the game preview here: A Chance For Saturday Night Redemption | PREVIEW: TOR @ MTL

Following the game, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Jakub Dobes, Riley Kidney, Sean Farrell and William Trudeau have been loaned to the Laval Rocket. David  Reinbacher has been loaned to the HC Kloten in Switzerland.

Earlier in the day, Canadiens management made two sets of cuts placing four players on waivers and assigning 26 players elsewhere. 

When the day began, 68 players were in camp but by the time Sunday arrived, only 33 remain. This will be a much more manageable number as the Canadiens prepare for their two final preseason games.

The Montreal Canadiens continue their preseason schedule on Monday night in Toronto to play the Maple Leafs for the third consecutive game.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on Monday, October 2nd at Scotiabank Arena.

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.