The last game of the season may not have meant much in the standings between two teams both set to miss the playoffs, but Max Pacioretty put a cap on what has been a breakthrough season, registering a goal and an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pacioretty earned first star of the game honours in the Habs’ win as his second period goal was the eventual game winner. The 23-year old winger has bounced back in a big way after missing 45 games last season after a hit from Zdeno Chara which fractured his vertebrae, finishing the season with a career-high 33 goals while leading the Habs in points (65).
Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was the lone scorer in Toronto’s season finale, registering a third period marker for his 12th goal of the season. Phaneuf’s 12 goals are his best season total since scoring 17 goals in back-to-back seasons with the Calgary Flames from 2006-2008.
With the Leafs on a two-man advantage early in the game, an unfortunate bounce gave Montreal the lead as Tomas Plekanec took the puck from rookie defenceman Jake Gardiner and scored on a breakaway, putting the puck through Ben Scrivens’ five hole. The goal was Plekanec’s 17th of the season and came just 3:20 into the game.
Plekanec became the first Hab to score a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal in 29 years, dating back to a goal scored by Guy Carbonneau on Mar. 24, 1983 against the Minnesota North Stars.
Montreal added to their lead early in the second period when Pacioretty capitalized on a bad line change by Mike Komisarek, skating into the Leafs’ zone unchallenged and beating Scrivens short side for his 33rd goal of the season and third in as many games. Defenceman Josh Gorges drew the lone assist on the play, his 14th of the year.
The Leafs got on the scoreboard quickly in the third period off a blast from Phaneuf that beat a screened Peter Budaj and bounced off the post and in. Phaneuf’s goal was his 12th of the season and second in as many games. The lead assist was credited to former Hab Mikhail Grabovski for his 28th helper of the year, while Clarke MacArthur drew the secondary assist, his 23rd.
It did not take long for Montreal to reclaim their two-goal lead, as just under four minutes later, Budaj made a save on a blast by Cody Franson and Pacioretty made the nice transition play, setting up Erik Cole who scored on a breakaway for his team-leading 35th goal of the season. Pacioretty’s assist on the Habs’ third goal of the game was his 32nd of the year.
An unlikely scorer sealed the deal for the Canadiens late in the game at the 18:02 mark of the third, as tough guy Brad Staubitz dumped the puck down the ice and into the empty Leafs’ net for not only his first goal, but also his first point in 62 games played this season. Staubitz’ goal came almost one year to the day since he last scored, with his last goal coming on Apr. 10, 2010 as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Montreal received an excellent effort in net from Peter Budaj, who stopped 30 shots en route to third star of the game honours. Saturday’s win over the Leafs improves his record to 2-0-2 since taking over for Carey Price, who was shut down with a season-ending concussion. At the other end of the ice, Scrivens allowed three goals on 26 shots in the loss to drop his record to 2-1-1 since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies on Mar. 31 because of the injuries to both James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson.
With the loss, the Leafs are guaranteed to finish 26th overall in the league standings with a shot at winning the draft lottery and selecting first overall at the 2012 NHL Draft. That marks the first time they’ve had a top five pick since drafting Luke Schenn fifth overall at the 2008 draft. Going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, Toronto has an 8.1 percent chance of winning and selecting first overall.
Despite their win over Toronto on Saturday, the Habs remain 28th overall in the league and will have a 14.2 percent chance of winning the lottery and moving up to a first overall pick in the draft. Montreal is guaranteed to have a top five pick for the first time since the 2005 draft when they selected Carey Price with the fifth overall selection.
Lottery Race – Chances of winning lottery in brackets.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets – 65PTS (25.0%)
29. Edmonton Oilers – 74PTS (18.8%)
28. Montreal Canadiens – 78PTS (14.2%)
27. New York Islanders – 79PTS (10.7%)
26. Toronto Maple Leafs – 80PTS (8.1%)
The NHL Draft Lottery will be decided on Tuesday at 8PM ET and can be seen on the NHL on TSN.
Leafs vs. Canadiens Stats Recap
Shots
TOR: 31
MTL: 27
Shot Leaders
TOR: Clarke MacArthur (7)
MTL: Max Pacioretty (4)
Power Play
TOR: 0/4
MTL: 0/3
Blocked Shots
TOR: 7
MTL: 21
Blocked Shot Leaders
TOR: Mike Komisarek (2)
MTL: Gorges and St. Denis tied (4)
Hits
TOR: 27
MTL: 14
Hits Leaders
TOR: Luke Schenn (5)
MTL: Blunden, Campoli and Staubitz tied (2)
Face-Offs
TOR: 30/48 (63%)
MTL: 18/48 (38%)
Face-Off Leaders (Min. 10 opportunities)
TOR: David Steckel – 10/14 (71%)
MTL: Lars Eller – 6/10 (60%)
Time on Ice Leaders
TOR: Jake Gardiner (25:43)
MTL: P.K. Subban (25:21)
Three Stars
1) Max Pacioretty – MTL (1G, 1A)
2) Erik Cole – MTL (1G, 0A)
3) Peter Budaj – MTL (30 Saves, .968 SV%)
For highlights of the season finale between the Leafs and Habs, check out my game recap on the brand new, Leafs Nation Network.
For up-to-the-minute Leafs news and updates, be sure to follow Ken Beckett on Twitter:
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»