Alex Newhook scored twice in the first period and Jacob Fowler stopped 26 of 28 shots as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. The win pushed Montreal to 11-3-3 and extended its season-series lead over Toronto to 2-0.
Montreal built a 2-0 lead before the first intermission and never trailed, and the Maple Leafs could not finish the comeback after cutting the deficit to one goal in the third. Zachary Bolduc’s slap shot with 7:45 left restored a two-goal cushion and closed the scoring. William Nylander led Toronto with a goal, and the Maple Leafs fell to 8-8-2.
Key Moments: How The Canadiens Won
Newhook opened the scoring at 5:56 of the first period with a wrist shot off a feed from Oliver Kapanen, then doubled the lead at 13:06 with a tip-in assisted by Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach. The two first-period goals gave Montreal a cushion it carried into the third.
Montreal held a 2-0 edge into the second period. Sergei Bobrovsky did not face another unanswered shot until Toronto’s third-period push. Nylander beat Fowler with a slap shot at 6:19 of the third, assisted by Darren Raddysh and Auston Matthews, and Gavin McKenna made it 3-2 less than a minute later at 7:14. Montreal answered five minutes after that when Bolduc scored off a Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield assist at 12:15, sealing the 4-2 final.
Top Performers
Newhook finished with two goals on three shots and was the only Montreal skater with multiple points. Dach added an assist and a plus-2 rating in 13:19 of ice time. Fowler made 26 saves on 28 shots for a .929 save percentage in the win.
For Toronto, Nylander had a goal and led the team in points. Matthews logged 22:57 of ice time, went 8 of 17 at the faceoff dot and put up eight shot attempts, but was held off the scoresheet beyond his shot total. Bobrovsky stopped 24 of 28 shots for an .857 save percentage in the loss.
What It Means
Montreal moved to 25 points, tied with Boston atop the Atlantic Division, with 11 wins, three regulation losses and three overtime losses. The Canadiens went 1 for 2 on the power play and won 62% of their faceoffs, controlling much of the pace despite being outhit 21-14. Toronto sits at 18 points with eight wins, eight regulation losses and two overtime losses, and has now lost eight games in regulation this season. The Maple Leafs went just 1 for 4 on the power play and won only 38% of their faceoffs, a disadvantage that limited their offensive zone time for long stretches.
What’s Next
Montreal improved to 25 points and 11-3-3, tied with Boston atop the Atlantic Division. Toronto dropped to 18 points and 8-8-2.
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