The Canadiens players didn’t have a great game and even head coach Martin St-Louis admitted Friday night that it wasn’t difficult for anyone to stand out.

The Toronto Maple Leafs players did little better in a duel without hostility and with moderate intensity. The visitors capitalized on goals from Matthew Knies and Mikko Kokkonen to defeat the Montreal team 2-1 at the Bell Centre.

The Habs only had eight established players, while the Leafs also chose their B or C club.

No player shone for the Canadian. The trio of Owen Beck, Jesse Ylönen and Joshua Roy were the most dynamic, while the colossus John Parker-Jones knocked on the door a few times in the second third.

“It definitely gives me confidence,” Parker-Jones said of the scoring opportunities. I’ll watch them in training tomorrow because I hope to score next time! »

Josh Anderson scored late in the third period to add some spice to the end of the game.

In the middle of the fight for a spot at right defense, Justin Barron made a mistake on the Maple Leafs’ first goal. Gustav Lindstrom also had a mixed game.

“I think the collective didn’t help the individuals tonight,” St-Louis said. We executed our moves poorly, we weren’t balanced on the ice. In this context, it is difficult for any player to stand out.

“I wouldn’t say they missed an opportunity tonight, but I have to review their game,” St-Louis added of Barron and Lindstrom.

Logan Mailloux was also more discreet than his first outing, which isn’t necessarily a bad sign.

“I wouldn’t say there were a lot of downs last game, but there weren’t a lot of downs in this game,” St-Louis said astutely.

Cayden Primeau, who hopes to force Canadian management to act and start the season with the big club, made 24 saves. He had nothing to blame for the two goals he allowed, but he did allow dangerous setbacks at times.

“He played well,” St-Louis said.

In front of the Maple Leafs net, Ilya Samsonov was perfect against 17 shots in the first two periods of the game. Keith Petruzzelli took the lead in the third period and gave up once against eight shots.

The Canadian hosts the Maple Leafs again at the Bell Center on Saturday evening in the fourth of their six preseason games.

Quiet evening

The first 9:08 minutes passed without interruption, but neither team was particularly dangerous.

For the Canadian, the trio of Beck, Ylönen and Roy caused a few ball losses without him being able to challenge Samsonov.

“I think we complement each other well,” Roy said. “Ylo” and I are more offensive and “Becker” is more defensive. The three of us together make a good mix. We communicate well on the ice and manage to find each other. »

At the other end of the ice, Primeau had to be on guard when Ryan Reaves countered a shot.

In the second half the game became a little livelier. Parker-Jones had a few chances from the slot but failed to get on the scoresheet.

The Maple Leafs took the short-handed lead 10:23 into the game. Fraser Minten caused Barron to lose control of the puck behind his net. Minten then followed up with a pass at the top of the slot to Knies, who surprised Primeau on the glove side.

The Canadian lacked so much cohesion in the power play that the spectators expressed their dissatisfaction after another failure in this situation in the middle of the second period.

The Maple Leafs increased the gap with 3:26 remaining in the second period. A point shot from Kokkonen was deflected by Beck before slipping through Primeau’s pads.

The Habs goalkeeper rehabilitated himself while Arber Xhekaj was in the cell. He frustrated Nicholas Robertson three times during the visitors’ power play.

David Kampf hit the post to Primeau’s right early in the third period when his shot deflected off the tip of Xhekaj’s stick.

The Canadian continued to have problems on the power play in the final third. It took a powerful one-timer from Anderson off a pass from Monahan to put the Canadians back in the lead with 5:21 left.

To watch in the video