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Flames @ Canadiens: A Pair for Toffoli | HABS RECAP

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Flames @ Canadiens: A Pair for Toffoli | HABS RECAP
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

Montreal Canadiens vs Calgary Flames Game Recap: Habs Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game Interviews, NHL Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 41, Home Game 21 | Friday April 16, 2021
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

2-1

FLAMES

Calgary

(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia

Jonathan Drouin – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Paul Byron

Artturi Lehkonen – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Defence pairings

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov –  Brett Kulak

Goaltenders

Jake Allen – Cayden Primeau

Scratches

Xavier Ouellet, Jake Evans

Taxi Squad

Michael Frolik, Michael McNiven, Otto Leskinen, Cole Caufield

Injuries

Brendan Gallagher (hand), Carey Price (lower-body), Erik Gustafsson (COVID protocol), Jon Merrill (COVID protocol)

Game Report

This was a low event game. The Canadiens were particularly lethargic not reacting well to a puck drop that was one hour earlier than usual. The start mirrored Wednesday’s game where Calgary owned a good deal of possession time and the Canadiens, particularly Phillip Danault, couldn’t win a faceoff.

But the second period was more evenly played with the Canadiens being first to light the goal lamp. After a hot start, Tyler Toffoli had cooled off without a goal in his previous six games. But the return of Joel Armia has ignited the Nick Suzuki line, leading to a two-goal night for Toffoli.

It was Armia’s second game back after a three and a half week absence due to testing positive for the coronavirus. Armia got his legs back under him on Wednesday but was 100 per cent for his effort in this game. Also making his way back into the lineup was Ben Chiarot who returned a little more than four weeks after fracturing his hand.

As Stephane Waite revealed the Canadiens play much more defensively with their backup in goal and tonight was no exception. Devoting more of their focus to helping Jake Allen defend left less time for offence. The Canadiens managed just 20 shots over 60 minutes.

For Allen, it was the third win in his last 13 starts. Credit to the Canadiens who played a playoff type game which required patience, a high compete level and their top goal scorer to step up at precisely the right moment.

Up Next

Montreal will not have a game day skate on Saturday. The Canadiens close out their six game homestand with a matinee game against the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm. ET. 

Plus

▲  Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, Nick Suzuki, Jake Allen

Minus

▼  Jonathan Drouin, Eric Staal, Phillip Danault

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Flames @ Canadiens: Chiarot Expected to Return

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   FLAMES
20 Shots 29
47 Face-off % 53
0-for-2 Power Play 0-for-2
6 Penalty Minutes 6
30 Hits 18
46 Corsi For 51
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (19-13-9) 0 1 1 2
Flames (19-22-3) 0 0 1 1
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Toffoli (20), Toffoli (21)
  • CGY: Lindholm (12)
  • MTL: Allen (L) 7-7-4
  • CGY: Markstrom (W) 15-15-2

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
NHL3stars
  1. Joel Armia  MTL
  2. Jake Allen  MTL
  3. Tyler Toffoli  MTL

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Dominique Ducharme

  • “We wanted to be more engaged. They had a lot of shots on the power play. There are nights when we’ve hit two or three posts. Tonight, that was the case for the opposing team. We’ll take the win, but we didn’t steal it.”

Shea Weber

  • “It was just a good effort by the guys. I think we stuck with it. There were times in the game where we could’ve cracked and went away from our game plan, but we just stuck with it and found a way to win.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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