John Tavares breaks late tie with 20th goal, Maple Leafs beat Canadiens 3-2

Sat, Mar 9, 2024
NHL News (AP)

MONTREAL (AP) - John Tavares broke a tie with 6:46 left with his 20th goal of the season and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Saturday night.

Jake McCabe's one-timer hit goalie Sam Montembeault's pad and deflected off Tavares in front of the net. The Toronto captain has scored 20 or more goals in 14 of his 15 NHL seasons.

Max Domi and Bobby McMann also scored and Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves. Toronto rebounded from a 4-1 loss in Boston on Thursday night to improve to 37-19-8.

The Maple Leafs played without Mitch Marner for the first time this season after the star forward sustained a lower-body injury in Boston.

Mike Matheson had a goal and assist for Montreal. Alex Newhook also scored and Montembeault stopped 24 shots. The Canadiens have lost four of five to fall to 24-30-10.

Defenseman Joel Edmundson - who played three seasons for the Canadiens from 2020 to 2023 - and forward Connor Deward made their Maple Leafs debuts after being acquired before the trade deadline.

The Canadiens tied it a 2 at 5:05 of the third period on Newhook's power-play goal. He beat Samsonov with a wrist shot that went off the post and in.

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Toronto forward Calle Jarnkrok took a tripping penalty with three minutes left to send Montreal on the power play. The Canadiens also pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with two minutes left, but didn't generate much despite some sustained time in the Maple Leafs zone.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Canadiens: Host Columbus on Tuesday night.

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