It was supposed to be a quiet pre-season Saturday night in Montreal, how quickly things changed for the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. The second half of their home-and-home turned into ‘fight night at the Bell Centre’, meanwhile Nick Robertson was busy putting the Leafs’ offence on his back.
Early on in the opening frame, the tone was set. Leafs forward Cedric Pare went knee-on-knee with Canadiens winger Patrik Laine. No penalty was called on the play, however Pare surely warranted one for the direct contact. Laine was dealt to Montreal looking to hit the reset button and then this happens:
Pare had to answer to Canadiens heavyweight Arber Xhekaj but did his best to not make eye contact with the Habs’ enforcer. Xhekaj was ejected after this one-sided affair and the Leafs went to a seven-minute power play:
On the man advantage, Robertson scored his first of two on the night, going five-hole on Canadiens’ starter Samuel Montembeault. It was the second consecutive game with a goal for Robertson, as he continues to push for a bigger role and gain Craig Berube’s trust heading into the regular season.
Robertson’s second of the night looked a lot like his first. The shifty winger once again went five hole, this time on Canadiens’ netminder Cayden Primeau, and gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead early on in the third period.
Robertson’s handy work was enough for the Maple Leafs to hold on. In goal, 6-foot-7 Dennis Hildeby played all 60 minutes in his first start of the preseason. The 23-year-old stopped 26 of 27 shots and showed off his athleticism throughout the contest. Hildeby projects to be the starter for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this season and currently sits fourth on the Maple Leafs’ goaltending depth chart. With the potential of Matt Murray being claimed on waivers before opening night, Hildeby could be in line for some NHL minutes, sooner than later. The ‘Hildebeast’ looks more than capable.
Up front, Easton Cowan played 16:02 and finished his fourth preseason game with one assist. Matthew Knies stood out and had a couple of great shifts on the penalty kill. Knies was one of only ‘vets’ dressed and is set for a big sophomore season starting on the Maple Leafs’ top line. On the back end, Conor Timmins played a team-high 23:42, blocking five shots and getting collecting three shots on goal.
As far as the fights went, round two came out of nowhere as Leafs defenceman Marshall Rifai and Canadiens youngster Juraj Slafkovsky dropped the mitts almost half way through the second frame. Round three was between Philippe Myers and Josh Anderson, in what was an uneventful scrap.
Toronto was outshot 27-22 and went 1-4 on the power play. Worth noting the Maple Leafs killed off seven Canadiens’ power plays, in what was a parade to the box on Saturday night.
The Maple Leafs have a few days of practice ahead of them before they’ll head to Detroit to face the Red Wings Oct.3. With training camp winding down, expect to see some more cuts announced over the next couple of days.
