Three Takeaways From Canadiens 4-1 Loss To Maple Leafs

The Montreal Canadiens lost another Saturday night contest, falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at Scotiabank Arena. A slow start doomed them as they fell behind 3-0 with limited shots on goal.

Despite missing the captain, the Maple Leafs have scorers throughout their lineup, and the Canadiens didn't execute a strong game plan like their Opening Night encounter to limit Toronto's chances.

Let's discuss a few takeaways from Montreal's sixth consecutive loss.

Wayne Gretzky Said It Best

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all time and is often quoted as saying, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Even though the Canadiens finished the night with 21 shots, they only had two after the first period.

At the same time, Toronto was up 1-0 and had seven shots. It was a quiet period for both offensives, but in the middle frame, the home team erupted for three goals, with Brendan Gallagher breaking up the tallies with a lamplighter at 9:26.

It was the Canadiens' eighth shot on goal, and by that time, the Maple Leafs were up 3-0. Montreal leads the league in shots against, and they take the fewest shots on goal at 24.60, meaning if they plan on snapping this six-game slide, one of these statistics needs to change.

Maple Leafs are Still Difficult to Defeat Without Matthews

Most opponents would circle any upcoming games against the Maple Leafs when Auston Matthews is announced out of the lineup. However, Toronto has a deep lineup, and it doesn't matter who's on the bench because their attack comes in waves.

Related: Canadiens Longest Winless Streaks Under Martin St-Louis

On Saturday, the Canadiens surrendered goals to Connor Timmins (first) but then to savvy veterans William Nylander (11th), Mitch Marner (4th), and John Tavares (8th). Outside of Timmins, all three other players are supposed to turn up their performances when the captain is out of the lineup, and thus far, they have.

Without Matthews in 2024-25, Toronto is 2-0-0 and has outscored opponents 8-1.

Gallagher for the Rocket Richard Trophy?

Gallagher is a former two-time 30-goal scorer. He's also reached 20 goals twice, last hitting the plateau with 22 in 2019-20. After 14 games, the 32-year-old has seven goals and has lit the lamp in three consecutive games.

He ranks second in team scoring behind Cole Caufield, who has 10. After Saturday night, Gallagher ranks 30th in NHL goal scoring, tied with All-Stars like Matt Duchene, Mark Scheifele, Travis Konecny, Jack Hughes, and Nathan MacKinnon.

Interestingly, he's outscored Sidney Crosby, David Pastrnak, Alex DeBrincat, and Cale Makar, to name a few. Although Gallagher has to score a few more points to get into the conversation about leading the Canadiens in scoring, there's no denying his inspired play, as of late, is one of the few bright spots on the season.

Canadiens & Maple Leafs Trivia Answers

How did you score in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Here are the answers.

1. Ryan Poehling

2. Jeff Petry

3. Maurice Richard

4. Jacques Plante

5. Tomas Plekanec

6. Andy Moog

7. Frank Mahovlich

8. Jacques Plante

9. Henri Richard

10. Shayne Corson

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