| Tor |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| Mon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Date of game: 2/9/2013
|
Recap: Montreal vs. Toronto
Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - James Reimer made 37 saves for his seventh career shutout and the Toronto Maple Leafs used a well-balanced offensive attack in a 6-0 rout of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Phil Kessel had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won three in a row for the first time since Feb. 1-6 of last season. James van Riemsdyk and Dion Phaneuf each added a goal and an assist, while Leo Komarov, Tyler Bozak and Korbinian Holzer also lit the lamp.
"You guys have been asking me about it for a while, but he's a special player," Phaneuf said of Kessel. "He's scored a lot of goals for a while, consistently. Sometimes they don't go in, but now that they're going in he's a guy who can get hot, so it's nice to see him get another one tonight."
Toronto improved to 2-0 against the Canadiens this season. The Leafs won at Montreal by a 2-1 score on Jan. 19.
Carey Price stopped 21-of-27 shots for the Canadiens, who have lost three straight.
The Maple Leafs took control 59 seconds into the game. Nikolai Kulemin stole the puck from Montreal's Andrei Markov at the blue line and went racing down the right wing. Kulemin slid a pass to Komarov, who put the puck into the back of the net.
Bozak lit the lamp at the 6:33 mark to make it 2-0. After winning a faceoff in the offensive zone, Bozak made his way to the front of the net. A shot from the left point ended up on the stick of Bozak, who knocked in the rebound.
"We had a really, really slow start and they beat us with speed," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "They were ready to play and we were not ready to play."
A quick goal by Toronto in the early stages of the second stanza made it 3-0. Kessel controlled the puck behind the net before finding van Riemsdyk in front.
Kessel's power-play goal with 1:59 remaining turned the game into a rout. His shot from the top of the left circle got past Price.
Reimer was sensational in the middle frame, making 20 saves.
Holzer and Phaneuf scored in the third period to account for the final margin.
Game NotesToronto has won five of its last six at Montreal ... Canadiens forward Travis
Moen returned to the lineup after missing Thursday's contest with a lower-body
injury ... Toronto went 2-for-6 on the power play, while Montreal went 0-
for-4 ... The Maple Leafs finished their three-game road trip with a perfect
mark.
