Justin Holl and Ilya Mikheyev scored in a 42-second span early in the third period to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Travis Dermott and Zach Hyman also scored for Toronto, Frederik Andersen made 33 saves, Jake Muzzin added three assists and John Tavares had two. Toronto is 8-0-1 in its last nine and leads the NHL and all-Canadian North Division at 11-2-1.
“It’s massive,” Tavares said. “We’ve got guys throughout our lineup that can contribute offensively, I think there’s no doubt about that.”
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Josh Anderson and Tomas Tatar scored for Montreal, and Carey Price stopped 20 shots. The Canadiens dropped five points behind Toronto.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” Anderson said. “I thought we set the tempo at the start of the game and overall played pretty good. A few bounces went their way and they capitalized.”
Auston Matthews’ career-high goals streak was snapped at eight games for Toronto, but he extended his points run to 11. Mitch Marner’s eight-game points streak ended.
Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, Toronto pushed ahead at 1:50 of the final period when Holl blasted a slap shot by Price’s glove for his first of the season while playing 4 on 4.
The goal was the winger’s first since Dec. 27, 2020 — the night he suffered a serious wrist laceration from a skate blade against New Jersey.
“I’ve uncorked it now,” Holl said. “There’s no turning back.”
Price was beaten again at 2:32 when Mikheyev banged home his first.
“He must have had the most chances in the league without one yet,” Tavares said. “Definitely great to see him get rewarded the way he’s been playing.”
UP NEXT:
Maple Leafs: Host Montreal on Saturday night.
Canadiens: Host Edmonton on Thursday night.
