Canadiens at Maple Leafs
THE STORY: The Montreal Canadiens will have a short flight to Toronto to think about what went wrong in their clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. The Canadiens saw a two-goal lead evaporate in the third period which eventually led to a shootout loss, a demoralizing blow for a team that’s played miserably under new head coach Randy Cunneyworth. Montreal will look to get untracked on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is coming off an impressive 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Jonas Gustavsson had a shutout intact until Nick Johnson spoiled it with only a few minutes left in the third period. Joffrey Lupul had three assists and fellow All-Star Phil Kessel netted his 25th goal of the season, helping the Maple Leafs snap a three-game losing skid.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (17-21-9): Montreal is 1-3-2 in its last six games and plummeting in the Eastern Conference standings. The Canadiens are just 1-7 in the shootout this season and are seemingly dropping points every time they play a game that goes beyond 60 minutes. Of the 12 Montreal players who have participated in the shootout this season, only three have scored. Captain Brian Gionta, who's nowhere near returning from a right bicep injury, has two of the shootout goals this season. All-Star G Carey Price is also having trouble keeping the puck out of the net, stopping just 10 of 20 shooters in the tiebreaker this season.
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (23-18-5): Ron Wilson decided to split up his top line for Thursday’s clash with the Wild and it paid huge dividends. Lupul and Kessel both put points on the board despite being separated. Gustavsson only had to make 20 saves for the win. "The Monster" has won 10 of his past 14 starts and is solidifying himself as the Leafs’ best option in goal. Toronto has won both of the previous meetings with Montreal this season.
OVERTIME:
1. The Leafs' fourth-ranked power play will be facing off against a Montreal penalty kill that ranks second in the league.
2. Toronto's penalty kill and Montreal's power play both rank dead last in the league.
3. Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski has eight points in his last eight games.