Game 7 Scoring Chances and Zone Entries: Canadiens 5 vs. Leafs 3

The Leafs fell behind in the first period against Montreal, and while they played a strong game, they were never able to overcome that deficit.

They twice answered Montreal goals with quick responses, but two special teams goals in the second period opened up the lead to three, and the Canadiens held on to win again.

Toronto carried the play, in possession and chances, particularly in the second period, when they were all over the Habs, only to give up four goals in the frame. The Leafs did trail during this time, but they were the better team in chances and Corsi while the score was close as well. The neutral zone was a fairly even battle, with the Canadiens narrowly getting the better of it, but the two sides close in controlled entries.

Team	Chances	1st	2nd	3rd	ES	ESClose	ESCh%	NZEnt%	ContEnt	OppContEnt
Tor	26	7	14	5	16	8	59.26%	48.89%	39.39%	36.23%
Mtl	17	7	6	4	11	6	40.74%	51.11%	-	-

The game really turned late in the second period, as a stretch that saw the Leafs dominate chances, 9-2 in the last 10 minutes, end up with two Montreal goals, dealing a fatal blow to the Leafs‘ comeback hopes. While they were able to generate some chances in the closing minutes, they didn’t reach the volume they managed in the second.

Period	Time	ST	SO	Team	How	State	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5	T6	O1	O2	O3	O4	O5	O6
1	19:23	0	0	Mtl	Smith-Pelley drives	ES	21	43	45	46	47	52	17	21	26	31	32	74
1	16:05	0	0	Tor	Matthias from Winnik	SH	23	26	44	45	52		11	14	31	67	76	79
1	14:56	0	0	Mtl	Semin wide from Desharnais	SH	2	26	45	46	56		13	26	27	28	31	51
1	14:07	0	0	Tor	Rielly drives post	ES	3	21	43	44	45	47	11	14	31	67	76	79
1	12:21	0	0	Tor	Lupul from Van Riemsdyk	PP	15	19	21	43	44	45	15	31	32	77	79
1	12:19	0	0	Tor	Van Riemsdyk from rebound	PP	15	19	21	43	44	45	15	31	32	77	79
1	09:45	0	0	Mtl	Subban from loose puck	SH	2	16	40	45	46		13	27	31	51	76	79
1	09:07	0	0	Mtl	GOAL! Subban from Pacioretty	SH	23	26	44	45	52		11	14	26	31	67	76
1	07:36	0	1	Tor	Winnik deflects Harrington shot	ES	16	19	26	36	44	45	15	22	28	31	51	77
1	05:52	0	1	Tor	Komarov drives	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	11	14	26	31	67	74
1	05:18	0	1	Mtl	Pacioretty wide from Markov	ES	2	3	21	43	45	47	11	14	31	67	76	79
1	04:08	0	1	Tor	Arcobello from Rielly	ES	23	28	33	36	44	45	22	28	31	32	51	77
1	03:14	0	1	Mtl	Subban wide from loose puck	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	17	21	31	32	76	79
1	00:38	0	1	Mtl	Pacioretty wide from Gilbert	ES	2	3	21	43	45	47	11	14	31	67	76	79
2	18:06	0	1	Mtl	GOAL! Eller from Galchenyuk	ES	15	40	44	45	46	56	13	27	28	31	77	81
2	17:24	0	2	Tor	Van Riemsdyk deflects Harrington shot	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	17	21	31	32	76	79
2	17:23	0	2	Tor	GOAL! Komarov from rebound	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	17	21	31	32	76	79
2	16:55	1	2	Mtl	Pacioretty wraparound	ES	2	3	16	19	26	45	11	14	31	67	76	79
2	16:24	1	2	Tor	Matthias wide from Arcobello	ES	23	28	33	36	44	45	13	27	28	31	77	81
2	14:52	1	3	Mtl	Galchenyuk from Semin	ES	23	28	33	36	44	45	13	27	31	76	79	81
2	13:49	1	3	Tor	Kadri wide from Van Riemsdyk	ES	2	3	21	43	45	47	13	27	31	76	79	81
2	13:24	1	3	Tor	GOAL! Van Riemsdyk from loose puck	ES	2	3	21	43	45	47	13	27	31	76	79	81
2	11:55	2	3	Mtl	Galchenyuk from Semin	SH	26	45	46	47	52		13	26	27	31	51	76
2	07:35	2	3	Tor	Grabner drives wide	ES	2	3	15	40	45	56	13	27	28	31	77	81
2	07:16	2	3	Tor	Rielly from faceoff	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	17	21	31	32	76	79
2	06:13	2	3	Tor	Phaneuf from loose puck	ES	2	3	16	19	26	45	15	22	26	31	51	74
2	04:38	2	3	Tor	Parenteau from Kadri	PP	3	15	19	21	43	45	15	17	26	31	74
2	04:30	2	3	Mtl	GOAL! Pacioretty drives	PP	28	33	44	45	47	56	14	31	67	76	77
2	04:03	2	4	Tor	Kadri from Phaneuf	PP	3	15	19	21	43	45	14	31	76	79
2	03:31	2	4	Tor	Lupul from Kadri	PP	3	15	19	21	43	45	14	26	31	74
2	03:29	2	4	Tor	Lupul from rebound	PP	3	15	19	21	43	45	14	26	31	74
2	03:18	2	4	Tor	Phaneuf from Kadri	PP	3	15	19	21	43	45	17	31	76	79	81
2	02:25	2	4	Tor	Komarov from Arcobello	PP	28	33	44	45	47	56	26	31	32	74	81
2	00:14	2	4	Mtl	GOAL! Gallagher deflects Subban shot	SH	2	26	44	45	56		11	14	31	67	76	79
3	19:16	2	5	Mtl	Eller from loose puck	ES	2	3	16	19	26	45	13	27	31	76	79	81
3	18:44	2	5	Mtl	Eller wide from Galchenyuk	ES	2	3	15	40	45	56	13	27	28	31	77	81
3	18:35	2	5	Mtl	Galchenyuk from Semin	ES	2	3	15	40	45	56	13	27	28	31	77	81
3	15:00	2	5	Mtl	Gallagher from Pacioretty	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	11	14	26	31	67	74
3	12:49	2	5	Tor	GOAL! Rielly drives	ES	23	28	33	36	44	45	13	27	31	76	79	81
3	11:31	3	5	Tor	Komarov wide from Van Riemsdyk	ES	21	36	43	44	45	47	15	22	31	51	76	79
3	04:38	3	5	Tor	Grabner from Parenteau	ES	15	33	36	40	45	46	17	21	28	31	77	81
3	03:04	3	5	Tor	Lupul from Winnik	ES	2	16	19	26	45	52	21	27	31	77	79	81
3	02:52	3	5	Tor	Van Riemsdyk from Rielly	EN	3	15	21	43	44	47	14	17	26	31	67	74

Leafs Player Data

Player	ESChF	ESChA	ESCh%	ESTOI	ZS%	NZ%	ContEnt	OppContEnt
Arcobello	4	1	80.0%	08:40	77.8%	48.0%	41.7%	15.4%
Matthias	3	1	75.0%	10:05	71.4%	51.6%	25.0%	26.7%
Boyes	3	1	75.0%	09:21	77.8%	50.0%	41.7%	8.3%
Van Riemsdyk	8	5	61.5%	15:50	94.1%	36.8%	42.9%	50.0%
Kadri	8	5	61.5%	16:39	94.1%	38.5%	40.0%	50.0%
Komarov	8	5	61.5%	15:55	94.1%	36.8%	42.9%	50.0%
Spaling	3	2	60.0%	13:18	66.7%	56.3%	33.3%	33.3%
Lupul	3	2	60.0%	11:22	85.7%	56.8%	38.1%	25.0%
Winnik	3	2	60.0%	14:21	75.0%	55.3%	34.6%	33.3%
Parenteau	2	3	40.0%	09:57	87.5%	52.0%	53.8%	41.7%
Grabner	2	3	40.0%	07:44	80.0%	51.9%	50.0%	30.8%
Froese	1	3	25.0%	08:03	66.7%	56.0%	42.9%	36.4%
Harrington	10	3	76.9%	14:55	87.5%	44.2%	52.6%	29.2%
Rielly	10	4	71.4%	19:24	88.9%	46.2%	50.0%	35.7%
Marincin	1	1	50.0%	10:07	100.0%	48.6%	38.9%	21.1%
Phaneuf	5	6	45.5%	16:45	71.4%	57.4%	29.6%	50.0%
Hunwick	5	6	45.5%	18:13	73.3%	55.8%	37.5%	52.6%
Polak	1	2	33.3%	12:59	100.0%	40.8%	30.0%	34.5%

It was another solid night for the top line of Nazem Kadri with James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov, which went up mostly against the Plekanec line, and managed to get the better of them in terms of chances. They did struggle with the neutral zone, the worst of the Leafs‘ lines in that area, but having a very high offensive zone start percentage may have helped them mitigate that damage.

It was also a good night for Marc Arcobello, with Brad Boyes and Shawn Matthias, as they were very effective at controlling Montreal’s zone entries, and were the best Leaf trio at preventing Montreal from mustering chances.

Byron Froese had some good moments in his first NHL game, but his chance numbers ended up the lowest on the team at even strength.

In addition to his excellent goal, Morgan Rielly had a strong overall night, as he, paired with Scott Harrington for much of the game, were easily able to out-chance the Canadiens. This came despite getting a fair amount of time against the top couple of Montreal lines, and against the top defensive pairing for the Habs.

Matt Hunwick and Dion Phaneuf were much less effective, as, like the top forward line, they struggled to prevent Montreal from entering the Leaf zone with control.