Canadiens have only three goals in their first two playoff games and none of them have been scored by the top six forwards.
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Opening a playoff series with a win on the road is usually a reason for optimism, but there was little reason for the Canadiens to feel good with their performance in Toronto after dropping a 5-1 decision to the Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.
The best-of-seven North Division series is tied 1-1 but, while coach Dominique Ducharme said the Canadiens are in a good position after winning Game 1, there is one troubling trend as the series moves to the Bell Centre for back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday.
The Canadiens can’t score goals, a problem that has plagued the team in recent playoff series.
Montreal has registered three goals in their first two playoff games and none of them have been scored by the top six forwards. One of their goals was shorthanded and they are 0-for-6 on the power play.
Ducharme tried to look on the bright side Saturday.
“I don’t think (the Leafs) are going to score five goals a night,” Ducharme said. “Tonight was a different night.”
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A fair point but, unless the Canadiens find a way to manufacture some offence, two or three goals might suffice for the Leafs.
Montreal and Toronto played on even terms through the first period, but the Leafs seized the momentum in the second period when there were two factors that worked against the Canadiens. They took the only four penalties in the period and had trouble winning faceoffs.
Auston Matthews gave the Leafs their first lead of the series and Rasmus Sandin scored a power-play goal that prompted a coach’s challenge, which was unusual because Carey Price didn’t complain after the puck found its way though the traffic in front of the net.
The replay showed Joe Thornton’s stick making incidental contact with Price’s stick, but the puck was already in the net and the challenge, which was a case of desperation, or wishful thinking, failed.
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Ducharme said video coach Mario Leblanc, goaltending coach Sean Burke and team vice-president John Sedgwick who, Ducharme noted, worked at the NHL prior to joining the Canadiens, viewed the action from above and are in radio contact wth the bench. Ducharme said the final decision is his, but he said everyone agreed Thornton touched Price’s stick.
Price, who arguably had the best perspective on what happened, was asked three times whether he thought there was interference on the play and, each time, he said he would have to check the replay.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi replaced the injured Jake Evans and he played well enough to earn another start when the series moves to Montreal.
The 20-year-old Finn, who enjoyed a breakthrough in the playoff bubble in Toronto last summer, scored the only Montreal goal and, on a night when the Canadiens won only 34 per cent of the faceoffs, he won six of 11 for a success rate of 55 per cent. He was the only Montreal centre over 50 per cent as Nick Suzuki won three of 13 and the usually reliable Phil Danault won six of 21.
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After Kotkaniemi scored, he pointed to the rafters with four raised fingers. He said he was acknowledging the four healthy scratches who shared the press gallery with him for Game 1.
One of those players is rookie Cole Caufield, who has a reputation for putting the puck in the net at the USHL and U.S. college level. Caufield has scored four goals, including two overtime winners, in 10 NHL games.
When asked if Caufield could be in the lineup Monday, Ducharme replied: “Possible.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvaG9ja2V5L25obC9ob2NrZXktaW5zaWRlLW91dC9pbi10aGUtaGFicy1yb29tLWxlYWZzLWV4cG9zZS1tb250cmVhbHMtc2NvcmluZy13ZWFrbmVzc9IBpgFodHRwczovL21vbnRyZWFsZ2F6ZXR0ZS5jb20vc3BvcnRzL2hvY2tleS9uaGwvaG9ja2V5LWluc2lkZS1vdXQvaW4tdGhlLWhhYnMtcm9vbS1sZWFmcy1leHBvc2UtbW9udHJlYWxzLXNjb3Jpbmctd2Vha25lc3Mvd2NtL2Y3MmU4YjI0LTllNDgtNDNkYi1iOTI0LTUzODRlZDIzMjcxZS9hbXAv?oc=5
2021-05-23 03:51:00Z
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