RYDER RETURNS; HABS DOWN LEAFS 5-2

GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   A. Emelin (16:56 - 1st) , M. Pacioretty (PPG, 04:17 - 2nd) , B. Gallagher (09:08 - 3rd) , M. Pacioretty (14:26 - 3rd) , B. Gionta (17:34 - 3rd)

TOR:   F. McLaren (13:44 - 1st) , C. MacArthur (15:47 - 2nd)

GOALIES

MTL: C. Price (W)

 TOR: B. Scrivens (L)

          Earlier tonight in Toronto, the Habs took on the Leafs for the third time this season. The Leafs won both games in Montreal, out scoring the Habs 8-1. In this game Michael Ryder was making his debut wearing number 73 (a number that was given up by Gallagher for number 11). Throughout the first period, McLaren was looking for someone to fight to give the Leafs a spark... He didn't get a fight but 13 minutes in, McLaren took the puck to the net and scored to make it 1-0 Toronto. With under 3 minutes to go, Armstrong played the puck to Emelin at the point and his slap shot found its way to the back of the net to make it 1-1.

     With under a minute to go in the first, Brown hit Gorges from behind and was given a 5 minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. The shots in the first were 11-4 Montreal. 4 minutes into the second with the Habs still  on the powerplay, Subbans one-timer was stopped and the rebound went off the shines of Pacioretty and in to make it 2-1 Habs. At the half way point of the game, the Habs came in on a 2 on 1 and Desharnais played it over to Gallagher and he was robbed by the blocker of Scrivens.

         1 minute later, Grabovski was taken down on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Price would make the save. Then with under 4 to go in the second, Frasers shot from the point was stopped but it bounced out of Prices glove. The play continued and Kadri played the puck to McArthur and he scored to tie the game. The shots in the second were 17-8 Habs. 9 minutes into the third, there was a faceoff to the right of the Leafs tender between Desharanais and Bozak. The Habs won the faceoff and Gorges point shot was tipped in by Gallagher to make it 3-2.

       Bozak was not ready for the draw and he wasn't impressed with the ref and he let him hear it. Late in the period, Pacioretty came up the right wing and shot a bullet past Scrivens to extend the lead. He looked like the Rocket on that play. Gionta would add an empty net goal from Gionta as the Habs win 5-2. The Habs out shot the Leafs 40 to 23 in the win."The Maple Leafs played two terrific games at the Bell Centre and we knew we had to bounce back from those type of games," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "We certainly played a great team game and stuck to our plan, and we were controlling our emotion to play that game.

      "Right from the get go I thought our guys were ready to play, and we set the tone. They tried to be physical on us but I was not afraid of that. We just kept focusing on the things we had to do to be successful." In the win, Price made 22 saves. In the loss, Scrivens made 35 saves. The Habs dominated the Leafs in every aspect of the game, puck battles, shots, shot blocking and special teams. The Habs only took 1 penalty and the Leafs took a 5 minute major and the Habs made them pay with a goal by Pacioretty.

        "We were flat, flat, flat, flat," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "It looked like at times that we were playing in our boots and they were playing on skates.We just didn't get anything going for ourselves. I don't think there's any way to paint it pretty and I'm sure you guys will give us a lot of help."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo