Montreal Canadiens forward Nikita Scherbak scored his first NHL goal with less than a second remaining in the first period of Saturday night's matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With the Canadiens on the power play, the 21-year-old Russian collected a soft shot at the top of the crease, corralled it from backhand to forehand and slid the puck past the outstretched pad of Leafs' goalie Frederik Anderson.

The goal gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead after the opening frame.

Scherbak has seven goals and 16 assists in 48 games with the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps.