The Leafs' win over the Montreal Canadiens was an important one for the Buds. The notion that the game was closer than it should have been, given the cavernous gap between the two Atlantic Division rivals in the standings, is completely irrelevant. The score did not reflect how dominant the Leafs were in the contest and, were it not for the play of Sam Montembeault in goal for the Habs, the Leafs could have easily run away with the game.
In the first period, Auston Matthews ripped one home for his 57th of the season, extending his lead in the Rocket Richard Trophy race, but it was the goal that he scored less than 30 seconds later to tally his 58th of the year that really shocked his teammates, Jason Spezza in particular.
Per head coach Sheldon Keefe, after Matthews notched his 51st goal in his last 50 games, he and the veteran Spezza shared a look on the bench.
