Two days after experiencing “a bad 12 minutes,” the Canadian experienced “a bad six minutes” and the result was the same.

The Toronto Maple Leafs scored four goals in a span of 5:33 in the second period against Samuel Montembeault to defeat the Montreal team 4-2 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.

The Canadian also conceded four times in the second period on Thursday in a 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“We need to control the puck better at the end of the ice and simplify our game a bit,” said head coach Martin St-Louis about his team’s problems in the middle phase.

“We have played some good second half games, but good teams will take advantage of these mistakes,” he added.

On Saturday evening, the Canadian finished 29th^e Ranks 1st in the NHL for goals allowed in the second period this season (96) and by its differential of minus-26.

“We have to play a little differently in the second period because the bench is further away,” said defenseman Mike Matheson, who had two assists. We have to make simpler plays and move the puck forward to avoid getting stuck in our zone and getting tired. That’s where we get into trouble. »

Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield scored to revive the Canadian (29-35-12), who, however, were unable to close the four-goal deficit.

Montembeault stopped only eight shots in 27:54 minutes and parried 18 times.

“Sam didn’t have it tonight,” St-Louis summed up.

Montembeault wasn’t the only one responsible for the Habs’ misfortune. The Maple Leafs also got lucky on one goal and took advantage of small defensive errors on two others.

“The bad jump on the second goal hurt,” said defenseman David Savard. We made a few mistakes and “Monty” wants to review the shots again. These are situations where he makes the save 98% of the time. It happens. »

Max Domi, Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann scored for the Maple Leafs (44-23-9). Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves.

The Maple Leafs won the three-game season series between the two teams.

“We’re probably not as far away from them as people think,” Suzuki said. There were times in this and other games when we controlled the game. If we impose our style, we can be successful against any team. »

“We can’t do it consistently,” he added. Good teams manage to perform well in the 60 minutes of play.”

The Canadian was without guards Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj, who both had upper-body injuries. Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron, who was recalled from the Laval Rocket, replaced them in the lineup.

At the top, Jesse Ylönen had to give way to Tanner Pearson.

For the Maple Leafs, forward Mitch Marner returned to action after a 12-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

The Canadian will play again on Sunday night when he visits the New York Rangers.

A few expensive minutes

The Maple Leafs had the first chance to score, attacking two against one. However, Montembeault stopped Knies’ shot with his shield.

The Canadian then repeatedly threatened the opposing net. Samsonov made many good saves, especially against the Habs’ first line.

Matthews knocked on the door late in the first period, but missed the target with a backhand shot after a good feint.

Montembeault also had some luck a few moments later when McMann hit the post to his right.

In the second period, the Maple Leafs finally showed opportunism.

Domi brought the ball in with 2:21 left in the second period. He deflected a shot by Ilya Lyubushkin between Montembeault’s pads.

Matthews returned to the attack 17 seconds later. His pass to the front of the net deflected off the Savard skate and crossed the goal line.

For Matthews it was a 64^e goal this season.

Knies increased the lead to 3-0 at 7:20. Montembeault escaped a long-range shot from William Nylander and Knies scored on the rebound.

After a battle between Ryan Reaves and Michael Pezzetta, who had stunned David Kampf earlier, McMann ended Montembeault’s work night by beating him 7:54 after a throw-in from Marner.

The Canadian scored a goal on the power play at 9:05 of the second period. After a cross pass from Juraj Slafkovsky, Suzuki scored with a precise shot from a tight angle.

Caufield then cut the lead to two goals with 1:28 left in the game, scoring with a one-timer after a pass from Matheson, who had just rounded the net.

The Maple Leafs had the best scoring chances in the third period. Reaves was frustrated by Primeau, then Matthews hit the post.

However, this did not bother the visitors again.

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