The Montreal Canadiens were back in action at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs for one last time this season. Jakub Dobes got the start following his outstanding outing against the Los Angeles Kings, and the talk of the town in the run-up to the game was whether he should be playing both games of this important back-to-back.

Meanwhile, the Leafs showed up riding a seven-game losing streak, with a captain who hadn’t found the back of the net in 11 games. For a player like Auston Matthews, who has won multiple Rocket Richard trophies and just captained Team USA to the gold medal in Milano-Cortina, that’s worrying. Before the game, he had just 26 goals in 58 games.

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If we’ve seen the Canadiens be dominated in the first frame at times this season, what we saw from the Leafs on Tuesday night was even worse. Toronto looked like it was simply going through the motions; they had no spring in their step and no emotion whatsoever, looking as active as a piece of agonizing roadkill on a highway.

At the end of the first frame, shots were 18-5 Montreal, and the score was 2-0. It almost felt like Toronto wanted Dobes to be fresh and ready to go for Tuesday’s game in Ottawa.

That was until Brendan Gallagher hit Easton Cowan while the youngster didn’t have the puck. Veteran blueliner Jake McCabe took exception and immediately came for Gallagher. The alternate captain had no intention of fighting, nor should he with the number of injuries he’s had on his hands, but McCabe wouldn’t let it go, so he dropped the mitts.

Toronto came out much stronger in the second period, with two power plays, which helped them gain some momentum. They managed to cut the lead in half through William Nylander, after two cross-zone passes, Dobes had no chance.

Meanwhile, Dobes looked as confident as can be in the net, stopping 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the second frame. He made quite a few glove saves, adding some mustard, a bit like Patrick Roy used to in the good old days. I’m not comparing him to Roy but just saying that his demeanour in net and his attitude remind me of Roy’s. It’s a stark contrast with what Montembeault looks like when he’s in the net, and that plays on the team’s confidence as well.

The Czech netminder only surrendered a goal on 18 shots, finishing his night with a .944 save percentage. Since he wasn’t particularly busy, it will be interesting to see if Martin St-Louis will give him the nod for Wednesday’s game or if he’ll stick to his alternating policy on back-to-backs.

The Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov line hadn’t been impressive in its first two games back together, but tonight, they were much better. Kapanen, who scored the first goal, had seven attempts on net tonight, three of his shots made it to the goalie, and he looked like he was just everywhere.

As for Demidov, he only had one shot on net, but his combativity along the boards was the key factor in the Canadiens’ first goal. He was knocked down in a battle but managed to shake it off, jump back up, and make the play that led to Kapanen’s goal. That was his 20th goal of the season, meaning he'll be getting a $250,000 bonus. 

Cole Caufield started the game on the top line, as he always does, but then, in the second period, he had his last shift at 14:23 and was stapled to the bench until the Canadiens had a power play in the third.

There was much speculation about why he wasn’t playing since nobody had seen an injury, and no one could remember a bad play that could have warranted benching him.  Then, he was back on the ice for the two power plays. After the game, Martin St-Louis confirmed the winger wasn’t feeling well; that he was a bit sick, but he does believe he’ll be available for Wednesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.

In the end, given how the Leafs looked for much of the game tonight, this game should have been easier for the Canadiens, but if you have a glass-half-full approach, the Habs managed to win a tight hockey game and protect a lead, even at five-on-six, a rare feat. The coach praised his team’s decision-making in the neutral zone tonight; they didn’t take any unnecessary risks. The coach summed it up by saying his charges took what the Leafs gave them.

Montreal kept its effort level high right up to the end. Mike Matheson made a very good play, diving to clear the puck and send it to Jake Evans, who outskated Easton Cowan to score the third goal and put the final nail in the Leafs’ coffin.

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