Nylander and Kerfoot lead Maple Leafs past Canadiens – TSN.ca

MONTREAL — Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nick Robertson accumulated three points for the second straight NHL preseason game.

After scoring two goals and one assist against the Ottawa Senators last Friday, the 21-year-old had three assists in Monday night’s 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

“He’s playing really good hockey right now,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said of Robertson. “He’s doing things he has to do to show that he wants a place on the team and that he’s ready to play in the NHL. Of course, as he continues to stack those games, we’re paying attention.”

Robertson, who is in contention for a spot in the Leafs roster, also played in Toronto’s second row William Nylander and Alexander Kerfoot. The winger said he’s trying to gain confidence in the little details that can help the team.

“I think it just started with my feet, another strong part of my game that I think is really what I’m about,” Robertson said. “I think a couple of those assists were just because I was pre-checking pretty hard and trying to keep the game simple. Luckily I think I got lucky with some of them and luckily (Kerfoot) and (Nylander) got the pucks in the net.”

No match for the Canadians, Nylander recorded two goals and an assist in the competition. Kerfoot scored twice late in the third period.

In his first full start for the Leafs Matt Murray made 28 saves and allowed one goal. Keefe said he didn’t rate his top players but made an exception for his goalie’s performance.

“I thought he was just great all night,” Keefe said. “Even the goal that came in, I mean, even the one he saved and then it’s the rebound that we don’t care about and that hits him. I just thought he was really, really good. For me, he is the highlight of the game.”

Murray even had to pull himself together and deny it Mike Hoffman during a five-on-three penalty shootout.

“It’s good to see one in preseason, you know they’re coming,” Murray said. “I thought the boys did well, we took a lot of penalties tonight and (the penalty killing units) did a really good job. We build every day.”

Jonathan Drouin scored Montreal’s only goal while Juraj Slafkovsky provided an assist. Jake Allenalso in his first full start to the pre-season, making 25 saves and allowing four goals.

The Canadiens were winless in the preseason. Both teams meet again at the Bell Center on October 12 for both teams’ regular season openings.

“There was a good (Maple Leafs) team tonight and I’m glad we played them,” said the Canadiens coach Martin St.Louis. “I know we still haven’t won, but in terms of scoring chance and shot volume, it was closer than the final score. In order to be able to rate a game like this, we have really real information, so it’s important.”

Montreal hosts the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday and then travels to Gander, NL for a final preseason game against the Sens on Thursday.

“We’re getting closer to that now,” St. Louis said of finalizing his roster. “We’re going to the Maritimes, it’s going to be four to five days together and it’s going to be very intense.

“I think it’s important that we travel together, that we have dinner together to get closer and wrap it all up. To know what our team will look like, we have Monday and Tuesday next week to get our concepts and our systems straight to the point.”

It took the Leafs just over two minutes to score the game’s first goal. Mitch Marner, Michael Bunt and Nylander combined for the tick-tock-toe game on the power play to fool Montreal’s penalty-killing unit and break the ice.

Toronto added a second goal when Aston-Reese hit a loose puck that bounced off the corner and back into the left faceoff circle.

The Leafs took a three-goal lead in the second half after Robertson disowned Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj along the boards and located a wide-open Nylander in front of the net. The Calgary-born Swede hit Allen with a backhand.

Montreal tried to respond with a goal of their own but Murray stood upright. Mike Hoffman connected with Slafkovsky in a two-on-one but the keeper denied the rookie his first pre-season goal.

“It’s a tough game because the puck carrier kind of takes him at an angle to the rink,” Murray said. “So I kind of travel in the opposite direction when the pass is made. It’s a nice pass from whoever that was and I was just trying to read it and was a bit late to be honest. I was just trying to get something.”

The Canadiens eventually scored a goal 5:45 into the game. Slafkovsky found Drouin in Murray’s crease to spoil the netminder’s shutout bid.

Kerfoot scored twice to seal the win. The center regained Toronto’s three-goal lead less than a minute later when his shot rebounded off the ties into the back net from Allen’s side.

The 28-year-old then snagged Allen’s rebound on the power play for his second of the night.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 3, 2022.