Sizzling Maple Leafs visit skidding Maple Leafs
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[April 12, 2021]
Winners of six consecutive
games, the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs will look to extend their
hot streak against the slumping Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
The Leafs are 9-0-1 over their last 10 games and are one victory
away from matching the franchise's longest winning streak since an
eight-game run during the 2003-04 season.
The last-place Ottawa Senators threatened to spoil Toronto's fun
last Saturday, but the Leafs held on for a 6-5 victory thanks to
another huge performance from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. The
star forwards each had four points -- Matthews had a hat trick and
an assist, and Marner collected a goal and three assists.
Matthews has scored in four straight games and has 16 points (10
goals, six assists) over his last nine games. Marner isn't far
behind that offensive pace, with 12 points (two goals, 10 assists)
over his last nine games.
Even with the team on such a roll, coach Sheldon Keefe juggled his
lines. Alex Galchenyuk collected two assists after being promoted to
the top line alongside Matthews and Marner.

"I think it took a little bit of time for the Matthews group, in
particular for Galchenyuk to sort of find his place on that line,"
Keefe said. "Obviously they scored the two goals in the first
period, but I thought that was, for the most part, Auston and Mitch
connecting.
"I thought Galchenyuk kind of found his place as the game went on."
Jack Campbell only stopped 27 of 32 Ottawa shots, though the Leafs
goaltender did enough to make some NHL history. Campbell improved
his record to 11-0-0, setting a new league mark for consecutive
goalie victories to start a season.
Since the Maple Leafs also play on Tuesday against the Calgary
Flames, Campbell and backup Michael Hutchinson figure to split the
back-to-back starts. In the wake of Campbell's somewhat shaky
Saturday outing, Keefe could opt to give him more rest by starting
Hutchinson against the Canadiens.
The goaltending situation is much more of a concern in Montreal, as
Carey Price (upper-body injury) is still questionable after missing
the team's last three games. Jake Allen has started all three
contests and posted an 0-3-0 record with an .867 save percentage.
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Toronto Maple Leafs
center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with the bench after scoring
a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the first period at
Scotiabank Arena. Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Allen has won just once (1-5-4) in his last 10 starts, but he might
still be the choice on Monday if Price is still unavailable. The
interim backup goalie is 21-year-old Cayden Primeau, who has played
just two career NHL games.
Allen allowed five goals on 25 shots in Saturday's 5-0 home loss to
the Winnipeg Jets, though goaltending was far from Montreal's only
issue. The Canadiens recorded their second-lowest shot total (19) of
the season. After 30 scoreless minutes, Winnipeg scored five times
in the final 30 minutes of play.
"We're shooting ourselves in the foot," Montreal forward Jake Evans
said, describing Saturday's loss as "a huge wake-up call."
"We can't win on skill, we can't win on playing a run-and-gun game
with some of these teams," Evans said. "We're a team that's built on
depth, and when everyone's going, I think we're an unbelievable
team. So, we've got to change our way pretty quickly here."
First-place Toronto sits 16 points ahead of fourth-place Montreal in
the North Division standings. The Leafs are 4-1-0 against the
Canadiens this season, including a 3-2 victory over the Habs last
Wednesday.
--Field Level Media
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