Leafs rally from three down to whip Canadiens 7-3

<p>Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander (88) scores on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault (35) as Canadiens' Lane Hutson (48) defends during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi</p>

January 18, 2025 - 7:09 PM

MONTREAL - The Toronto Maple Leafs scored seven unanswered goals to overcome a 3-0 first-period deficit and then skated to a 7-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Bobby McMann, Nicholas Robertson, William Nylander, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, Auston Matthews and David Kampf found the back of the net for Toronto (22-18-4).

Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal (28-16-2).

Montreal dominated the opening period of the game and struck first on a Kirby Dach goal at 5:08. Patrik Laine, on the power play, and Josh Anderson scored just nine seconds apart, giving Montreal a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Toronto replied in the second period with goals from Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson. Nylander scored 24 seconds into the third period on a breakaway and the epic comeback was underway.

Ekman-Larsson, on the power play, scored at 4:31, Matthews scored a short-handed goal at 7:58, Lorentz scored at 14:45, and Kampf added an empty-net, short-handed goal at 18:26.

TAKEAWAYS

Canadiens: Missed opportunities again made Montreal’s life more difficult than it needed to be. Shots ringing off the post, missing open chances, and excellent saves from Toronto netminder Joseph Woll prevented them from putting the game to bed in the second period.

Maple Leafs: When it rains it pours. Despite an abysmal first period, Toronto was able to regroup and complete their comeback in the blink of an eye, scoring five before Montreal had the chance to regroup.

KEY MOMENT

Halfway through the second period, Montreal’s Christian Dvorak’s sent a shot that rang off the right post and promptly turned into a two-on-one rush that allowed McMann to score eight seconds later, sparking the Toronto comeback.

KEY STAT

Toronto’s five goals in the second and third periods were just 18 minutes apart.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

Canadiens: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2025.