On a night when Mats Sundin was on hand to have his number 13 raised to the rafters, the former Leaf captain's scoring touch would have come in handy, as the Montreal Canadiens shutout Toronto 5-0 at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday.
The Leafs outshot the Habs by a 32-18 margin but were unable to finish, as Carey Price stopped every shot he saw to earn his fourth shutout of the season and first star of the game honours.
In a pre-game ceremony, Sundin gave a rousing speech recounting his 13 seasons with the Maple Leafs in which he became the team's all-time leading scorer. He also paid honour to fellow teammates and friends that have since passed away, including Pat Burns, Wade Belak, Igor Korolev, and Alexander Karpovtsev.
Over his 13 years with the Leafs, 11 of which he served as the team's captain, the big Swede became Toronto's all-time leader in goals (420) and points (984). Sundin's banner sits in between George Armstrong's and fellow Swede Borje Salming's in the Air Canada Centre rafters.
There was no scoring in Saturday's game until early in the second period when Erik Cole scored from the slot, putting the puck through James Reimer's five-hole to give Montreal the 1-0 lead at the 5:01 mark. Cole's goal was his 20th of the season, giving the 33-year old forward his second-straight 20-goal season and the fifth of his career. David Desharnais picked up the lone assist on the play, his 28th of the year.
Montreal extended their lead to two just under two minutes later as Rene Bourque one-timed a shot into the back of the net for his 16th goal of the season and third in 12 games with the Canadiens. Tomas Plekanec was credited with the initial assist on the play, his 27th of the year, while Mathieu Darche drew the secondary helper for his sixth this season.
Toronto's stingy penalty kill was finally solved after not allowing a power play goal against in 17 games during the 2012 calendar year as Max Pacioretty scored on the man advantage at the 15:54 mark of the middle frame. Pacioretty's goal was his team-leading 23rd of the season, while P.K. Subban picked up an assist for his 18th of the year. The secondary assist was credited to Desharnais for his second helper of the evening.
The Habs' lead got even bigger late in the second with 1:06 left in the period when Lars Eller skated around Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and scored from in front for his 12th goal of the season and second in three games.
After allowing four goals on seven shots in the second period, Reimer saw his night come to an end as Jonas Gustavsson was placed in net to start the third period.
The Monster did not get off to a good start in net however, because the first shot he faced resulted in a breakaway goal by Mathieu Darche to give Montreal the 5-0 lead. Darche's goal was his fourth of the year, while Plekanec drew his second assist of the night and 28th of the season on the play. Carey Price was credited with the secondary assist, his second helper of the season.
The loss is Toronto's third-straight, marking the first time they have lost three in a row since Jan. 13-17. Montreal's victory is their fourth-straight as the suddenly surging Habs find themselves eight points back of the eighth-place Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings.
On a night when the Leafs' former captain was honoured, their current captain, Dion Phaneuf, said post-game that he was disappointed with his and the team's effort and that Toronto will need to improve as the playoff push intensifies.
"We threw pucks to the net and their goalie played well," Phaneuf said of the loss. "I don't think there's much else to say other than they beat us in every aspect of the game and I'm not happy about it."
"It's not from a lack or urgency or not knowing where we're at [in the standings]," the captain added. "We just didn't play well. I don't think there's much more that needs to be said other than we didn't play well, we didn't play well enough to win. And it's disappointing with where we're at in the standings to come out and not play our best. Our whole group, we didn't play well enough, myself included."
During the first intermission of Saturday's original six battle, Sundin discussed the honour of having his number 13 raised to the Air Canada Centre rafters, telling reporters that it was nice to finally have a chance to reflect back on his playing days.
"It's surrealistic," Sundin admitted. "When you're in your career... you don't have time to reflect, really ever until now when you're career is over. And then you kind of look back and say, 'I played 18 years, and 13 years as a Maple Leaf?' It's really tough to take in. And when you're out there on the ice today, it becomes almost reality."
"And when the banner goes up and you see Borje Salming and [George] Armstrong and [Daryl] Sittler and [Doug] Gilmour, it's a really neat feeling."
Sundin's banner sits next to fellow Swede Borje Salming's in the rafters. During his speech in the pre-game ceremony, Sundin told the crowd at the Air Canada Centre that Salming was the first person he talked to after being traded to Toronto in 1994. Sundin told fans that Salming assured him that he would enjoy wearing the Blue and White.
"It's great," Sundin said of having his banner placed next to Salming's. "I talked to Borje yesterday, he told me to enjoy it. And when I became a Maple Leaf, he was the first guy I talked to and everything he said was really true about playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs."
The Leafs are back in action on Tuesday when they visit Calgary for a Valentine's Day match-up against the Flames.
Canadiens vs. Leafs Stats Recap
Shots
MTL: 18
TOR: 32
Shot Leaders
MTL: Max Pacioretty (4)
TOR: Lupul and MacArthur tied (4)
Power Play
MTL: 1/2
TOR: 0/5
Blocked Shots
MTL: 21
TOR: 13
Blocked Shot Leaders
MTL: Campoli and Gorges tied (5)
TOR: Luke Schenn (3)
Hits
MTL: 36
TOR: 25
Hits Leaders
MTL: Alexei Emelin (9)
TOR: Mike Brown (7)
Face-Offs
MTL: 36/71 (51%)
TOR: 35/71 (49%)
Face-Off Leaders -Min. 10 opportunities
MTL: David Desharnais - 11/19 (58%)
TOR: David Steckel - 9/11 (82%)
Time on Ice Leaders
MTL: Josh Gorges (21:39)
TOR: Dion Phaneuf (26:54)
Three Stars
1) Carey Price - MTL (32 Saves, SO)
2) Tomas Plekanec - MTL (OG, 2A)
3) David Desharnais - MTL (0G, 2A)
Mats Sundin Banner Raising Ceremony
Game Highlights
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