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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Not much has gone right for the Montreal Canadiens of late, but their incredible dominance over the Toronto Maple Leafs lives on for at least one more season.

Completing the four-game season sweep of the Maple Leafs on Saturday night with a 3-2 overtime win, it’s been three years (and counting) since the Canadiens lost to their historic rivals.

Toronto’s lineup Saturday included only four players who were on the team that last bested the Habs, back on Jan. 18, 2014.

It’s not as if Toronto hasn’t had their chances to emerge victorious – three of the last four games between these clubs have been decided by one goal, and the Maple Leafs outshot the Canadiens in every contest. But a streak-busting win has continued to elude them.

"I think for us and the fans, it's a team we want to beat pretty badly,” said Jake Gardiner, one of the long tenured Maple Leafs from that 2014 team. “It's not something we're proud of, that's for sure."
 
The Maple Leafs’ lineup faced an early deficit as it was, with Tyler Bozak being replaced by Ben Smith. Bozak suffered a cut on his hand that became infected and the team was holding out hope he’d be able to play. Mitch Marner also didn’t suit up for the fifth straight game, another gaping hole in the offence.
 
But Toronto had plenty of jump against the Canadiens, dominating the first and third periods and getting another superb showing from Frederik Andersen in net.  Toronto has had middling success in the extra frame all season, falling now to 5-6 in overtime through the first 61 games.

On this night, to leave with only one of a possible two points didn’t sit well with the newcomers, either.

“I thought we did everything we could to win the game, we just came up short. It’s not the best feeling,” said Auston Matthews, who scored both of Toronto’s goals. “It’s a pretty frustrating loss for us. I thought we played a pretty outstanding game. We didn’t give them anything for free. When they did get their opportunities, it was off of turnovers and plays that were definitely our fault.”

Just as he was in the previous three matchups, Carey Price was the Habs’ best player.  He turned in a 32-save performance, looking far closer to his sensational early-season self than the goalie who had lost seven of his last nine starts.

Montreal had scored only four goals total in their previous three games, and finding offence had been a challenge. Just as Andersen predicted before the game, the outcome ultimately came down to a goaltending duel – with a little touch of luck.
With the game knotted 2-2 in the overtime period, Matthews had a clean breakaway chance on Price, but the puck went off the shaft of the goaltender’s stick and deflected high.

When Andrew Shaw had a breakaway of his own, Andersen came past the bottom of the circles to challenge him, but Shaw was able to work past on his backhand for the game-winning score.

“I thought I had a better play than I had,” Andersen said. “The puck got to me quicker than I thought it did and he was on it first. I think we played well though; we had some good chances to score. A couple mistakes cost us.”

Toronto had a chance to move within two points of Montreal for the top seed in the Atlantic Division with a win on Saturday; instead they fell five back with their second straight loss in extra time.
 
“We just have to keep getting better. If we keep getting better, we have a chance to get in the playoffs,” said Mike Babcock. “We have to scratch and claw our way in.”

“Did I want to win tonight? Yes. Are we going to beat Montreal? Yes.”

Takeaways

Stepping up: The Maple Leafs team that finished in 30th place a season ago amassed just 69 points in 82 games en-route to claiming their big prize – Matthews. With a point in Saturday’s loss, Toronto has tied that total in only 61 games. Icing a club that has at times had as many as nine rookies, and with a power play that has been ranked number one or near number one since late December, the success they’ve been able to generate was unexpected to say the least, but has them in the coveted position of playing truly meaningful hockey as spring approaches.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a small step, I think it’s a huge step,” Babcock said. “We’re getting to play in real hockey games, and that matters and our crowd is excited and [these are] good hockey games on a level we couldn’t play last year.”

This is 30: When Matthews stood on Price’s doorstep early in the third period and tipped in a Zach Hyman feed, it marked his second score of the night and the 30th goal of his rookie season, a feat accomplished by only two other Toronto rookies before him.

Matthews is now four goals back of Wendel Clark’s record for most goals by a first-year player, and is on pace for 40. The 19-year-old has an uncanny ability to anticipate plays and put himself in the right position to generate scoring chances, even when being challenged around the net.

His seven shots on goal Saturday tied his second-highest total of the season, and it was his fifth game with two or more goals scored on the season. Matthews also extended his league lead in first period goals to 11 with the game’s opening marker.

Beyond just putting up points, Babcock showed the growing trust he has in Matthews by inserting him for a key defensive zone faceoff near the end of the third period, which the rookie won.

Flipping the script: The Maple Leafs have had a tremendous run of success when leading after the first period, posting an 18-1-5 record (the sixth-most wins in the league) going into Saturday night, with the Canadiens at 2-13-2 when trailing after one. But as Toronto has gone deeper into the season, those good starts that are critical to their success are continually harder to come by, especially against playoff teams. This was the second straight game they’ve led after the first period and lost in extra time, and they’ve lost six of their last eight games to teams that were in a playoff position.

Power failure: Toronto’s power play hasn’t been the same without Marner, and has slipped enough to now be sharing the top spot in the league (at 22.8 percent) after going 0-for-2 against the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs were able to put eight shots on goal on those man advantages, but are missing Marner’s set up abilities more than ever – his 13 power play assists still leads the team. With Bozak also out on Saturday, Zach Hyman was filling in as the net front guy with Leo Komarov moving to the slot, but those units never found a way to connect on a goal. Toronto has scored only two goals on 15 opportunities in the five games Marner’s been out.

Next game: Toronto is set to take off for their annual west coast swing, facing the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday in the Bay Area.