Toronto Maple Leafs

Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ 3-2 OT Loss to Canadiens

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost in overtime last night to the Montreal Canadiens. What were the three key takeaways from the game?

by
Old Prof
January 21, 2023

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost in overtime by a score of 3-2 last night to the Montreal Canadiens. It was the Maple Leafs’ second game against the Habs in Montreal, and the result was another one-goal loss.

The Maple Leafs came out hard in the first period, taking a lead of 2-0. Mark Giordano and Calle Jarnkrok scored for Toronto. However, the Maple Leafs let the Canadiens get back into the game in the second period.

It was like a different Montreal team showed up. They took advantage of what they were given and overcame a two-goal deficit. The result was another untimely loss by Toronto.

Once the game hit overtime, it was back and forth and a great shot by Rem Pitlick beat Maple Leafs’ goalie Samsonov for the Habs win.

Takeaway One: Mark Giordano Is on a Mini-Scoring Streak

Mark Giordano, who’s the oldest skater currently playing in the NHL this season, scored a goal in his second consecutive game in his team’s loss to the Canadiens. It took him less than a minute – 53 seconds in fact – to put the Maple Leafs up by a score of 1-0. With the goal, Giordano (who is 39 years and 110 days), became the oldest Maple Leafs’ defenceman since Tim Horton in 1968 to score goals in two games in a row.

Giordano now has a three-game, three-point scoring streak. In those games, he’s scored two goals and added one assist. In 47 games this season, he’s now totaled three goals and added 13 assists (for 16 points). He’s also put together a plus-18 rating on the season.

Takeaway Two: Ilya Samsonov Still Hasn’t Lost in Regulation on Home Ice

Although Ilya Samsonov hasn’t lost yet this season in regulation on home ice, he did lose in overtime. Samsonov made 28 saves in the overtime loss. Until overtime, the two goals he allowed both came in the second period. None of the goals were really stinkers, just good shots.

Samsonov played a solid game. If it were not for his strong performance, the Maple Leafs might have lost by a bigger margin. He’s the reason the team picked up at least one point. Despite the loss, he played well and kept the game close.

For the first time this season, Ilya Samsonov will make three consecutive appearance in goal with a healthy Matt Murray available and others lineup notes ahead of the #Leafs game against the Canadiens. ⤵️https://t.co/t95dm1juZx
— David Alter (@dalter) January 20, 2023

However, Samsonov had a couple of injury scares. The first came after he was caught down on the ice and had to twist his body to make a save. The second came after he took a puck to the mask. Despite this, he was able to continue playing. It doesn’t seem as if he’ll have to miss any time.

Takeaway Three: The Canadiens Always Seem to Play Well Against the Maple Leafs

Going into the game, the Maple Leafs were 22 points ahead of the Canadiens, who were last in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens were undermanned – missing several key players due to injuries (Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Sean Monahan, and rookies Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle). Still, the Maple Leafs could not beat this determined underdog team.

As noted, Montreal has beaten Toronto twice this season. But they are not the only team to have done so. Both the Arizona Coyotes and the Las Vegas Golden Knights also have beaten them two times. The Maple Leafs’ lack of success against the Canadiens is simply odd.