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National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Montreal 5, Toronto 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Referees: Tom Kowal, Dennis LaRue
Linesmen: Scott Driscoll, Jean Morin
Attendance: 19625

Canadiens 5, Maple Leafs 2: Max Pacioretty scored twice to give visiting Montreal its first win in three games against Toronto.

Defenseman Alexei Emelin scored in the first period and rookie Brendan Gallagher tipped blue-liner Josh Gorges’ point shot past Ben Scrivens midway through the third to snap a tie for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine games. Carey Price made 21 saves and captain Brian Gionta added an empty-net goal to ice the game.

Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur scored for Toronto, which defeated Montreal 2-1 and 6-0 earlier this season. Scrivens stopped 35 shots but the Maple Leafs saw their three-game home winning streak come to an end.

Pacioretty, who has six goals in his last six games, scored his first of the contest with six seconds remaining in a major penalty to Mike Brown after the puck deflected off his knee as he skated in front of the net. Pacioretty then beat Scrivens with a wrist shot to give the Canadiens a 4-2 lead with 5:34 remaining.

Michael Ryder, who was acquired by Montreal from Dallas along with a third-round pick in exchange for Erik Cole on Tuesday, played 14:34 but didn’t register a shot and finished minus-1. Ryder was drafted by the Canadiens in 1998 and played his first four seasons with Montreal, recording a career-high 63 points in his rookie season of 2003-04.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Toronto G James Reimer dressed and served as the backup. Reimer has not played since straining his left MCL on Feb. 11. … The two Original Six rivals have split each season series since the 2003-04 season, when Toronto won four of six meetings. The five-game series in this truncated season guarantees a winner. … Raphael Diaz, who leads Canadiens defensemen with 13 points on the season, missed the game with a concussion suffered on Monday.
Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Toronto
Max Pacioretty 2 Points Clarke MacArthur 1
Max Pacioretty 2 Goals Clarke MacArthur 1
David Desharnais 2 Assists Mike Brown 1
Max Pacioretty 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carey Price .913 Save Percentage Ben Scrivens .875
Carey Price 21 Saves Ben Scrivens 35
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 40 5 1-2 1-1 2 29
Toronto 23 2 0-1 1-2 15 25
Upcoming Games
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .750 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .714 after a loss.