Auston Matthews scores league-leading 64th goal in 4-2 Maple Leafs win over Canadiens
Auston Matthews scored his league-leading 64th of the season in a four-goal second period for the Maple Leafs, and Toronto defeated the archrival Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
Matthews hit the 100-point mark for the second time in his career and extended his point streak to 10 games in the process.
The 26-year-old superstar is on pace for 69 goals, one shy of the 70-goal milestone that hasn't been attained since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny reached 76 in 1992-93. No one has scored 65 goals since Alex Ovechkin bagged 65 in 2007-08.
Bobby McMann, Matthew Knies and Max Domi also scored as Toronto (44-23-9) spread the wealth on offence. The Maple Leafs clinched a spot in the playoffs while idle Friday.
Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves. Star forward Mitch Marner had one assist is his first game back from missing 12 with an ankle injury.
Nick Suzuki - with a goal and an assist - and Cole Caufield scored for Montreal (29-35-12) in a second straight loss. Mike Matheson pitched in with two assists.
Sam Montembeault allowed four goals on 12 shots before getting the hook midway through the second period. Cayden Primeau stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief.
Canadiens defencemen Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj missed the game with upper-body injuries. Guhle is day-to-day while Xhekaj is undergoing evaluation. Montreal recalled defenceman Justin Barron from American Hockey League affiliate Laval on an emergency basis.
Johnathan Kovacevic and Tanner Pearson also drew into the lineup. Jesse Ylonen was a healthy scratch.
After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened in the second.
Domi opened the scoring 2:21 into the period by tipping a point shot from Ilya Lyubushkin between Montembeault's legs.
Matthews doubled the lead 17 seconds later with a centring pass that deflected off David Savard's skate and into the net - drawing an eruption from the Maple Leafs fans that came out to the rivalry game in numbers.
Knies made it 3-0 at 7:30 as Montreal appeared to lose control of the game.
Off the next faceoff, Toronto's Ryan Reaves and Montreal's Michael Pezzetta - who had been jawing at each other earlier in the game - dropped the gloves in a spirited fight.
The six-foot-two, 226-pound Reaves delivered blow after blow to the six-foot-one, 217-pound Pezzetta in front of the Canadiens bench before taunting the home team.
McMann then added to Montreal's misery with a goal at 7:54.
Suzuki got the Canadiens on the board with his team-leading 33rd by finishing off a slick behind-the-back feed from Juraj Slafkovsky on the power play at 9:05.
And with 1:28 left in the hectic period, Caufield buried a feed from Matheson in front of the net to make it a two-goal game.
Matthews nearly scored his 65th late in the third period but rang his shot off the post.
The Maple Leafs shut the Canadiens offence down in the period. Montreal pulled Primeau for an extra attacker with 2:15 left but couldn't generate any scoring chances.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Visit the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Maple Leafs: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Aviation experts say Russia's air defence fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns
Aviation experts said Thursday that Russian air defence fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Police identify victim of Christmas Day homicide in Hintonburg, charge suspect
The Ottawa Police Service says the victim who had been killed on Christmas Day in Hintonburg has been identified.
Teen actor Hudson Meek, who appeared in 'Baby Driver,' dies after falling from moving vehicle
Hudson Meek, the 16-year-old actor who appeared in 'Baby Driver,' died last week after falling from a moving vehicle in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, according to CNN affiliate WVTM.
Pizza deliverer in Florida charged with stabbing pregnant woman at motel after tip dispute
A pizza deliverer in central Florida has been charged with pushing her way into a motel room with an accomplice and stabbing a pregnant woman after a dispute over a tip, authorities said.
India alleges widespread trafficking of international students through Canada to U.S.
Indian law enforcement agencies say they are investigating alleged links between dozens of colleges in Canada and two 'entities' in Mumbai accused of illegally ferrying students across the Canada-United States border.
Cat food that caused bird-flu death of Oregon pet was distributed in B.C.: officials
Pet food contaminated with bird flu – which killed a house cat in Oregon – was distributed and sold in British Columbia, according to officials south of the border.
Unwanted gift card in your stocking? Don't let it go to waste
Gift cards can be a quick and easy present for those who don't know what to buy and offer the recipient a chance to pick out something nice for themselves, but sometimes they can still miss the mark.
Raised in Sask. after his family fled Hungary, this man spent decades spying on communists for the RCMP
As a Communist Party member in Calgary in the early 1940s, Frank Hadesbeck performed clerical work at the party office, printed leaflets and sold books.
2 minors, 2 adults critically injured in south Calgary crash; incident was preceded by a robbery
Multiple people were rushed to hospital, including two minors, in the aftermath of a serious vehicle collision on Thursday morning.