Michael Hutchinson stops 38 shots as Leafs blank Canadiens
Toronto goaltender making case as front-runner for backup job; Canucks top Senators
Michael Hutchinson is making his case as the front-runner to land Toronto's backup goaltender job.
Either Hutchinson or Michal Neuvirth will be Frederik Andersen's backup when the season starts Oct. 2.
"It was fun as a goalie," said the 29-year-old Hutchinson. "They had a good third-period push. I had to stay focused and try to find pucks and make the saves when I had to.
"The guys played really great in front of me. They had some good scoring chances that our guys got sticks on, or they were able to poke the puck away at the last second.
"As a goalie, you see the energy the guys are bringing and it energizes you too."
WATCH| Leafs blank Canadiens in Montreal:
Neuvirth, who is on a professional tryout with the Leafs, was supposed to share the net with Hutchinson on Monday. But the former Flyers goaltender did not travel to Montreal.
Instead, Hutchinson played a full 60 minutes and frustrated Canadiens players throughout.
Claude Julien confirms that Carey Price did not play tonight as a precautionary measure. He has a light bruise on his trapper hand.<br> <br>He's expected back on the ice before the end of the week.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoHabsGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoHabsGo</a>
—@CanadiensMTLEarlier in the game, Hutchinson denied Charles Hudon on a 2-on-1 before stopping Tatar on a fast break late in the second.
"Tonight's game was a good game for the goalie," said Mike Babcock of Hutchinson, who was acquired from Florida last season. "We got a lead early. It's no different than pitching, you like to get a lead. It's easier for him. I thought Hutch did a good job."
Leafs prospects on display while stars sit
Toronto's top young prospects were on display, with the team's biggest stars not making the trip.
Forwards John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander were not in the lineup for the Maple Leafs. Defencemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin also did not play.
But it was the youngsters who took it to the handful of Canadiens veterans.
After a scoreless first period, the visitors struck first at 1:05 of the second. With Toronto on the power play, Yegor Korshkov crashed the net and fired a pass from Nic Petan behind Charlie Lindgren.
Lindgren stopped 22-of-25 shots replacing the injured Carey Price, who is day-to-day with a bruised left hand.
'We played what was pretty much an AHL team'
The Leafs doubled their lead five minutes later through Darren Archibald's first of the pre-season. The 29-year-old, who has played 55 NHL games with the Canucks and Senators, drove hard to the net and cashed in Petan's rebound.
Korshkov made it 3-0 for Toronto on a strong individual effort at 8:04 of the third. The Russian stripped the puck off Brett Kulak in Montreal's end before snapping a quick release into the roof of the net.
The Maple Leafs improved to 2-3-0 in the pre-season while the Canadiens dropped to 4-1-0.
"It's difficult to evaluate my team tonight," said coach Claude Julien. "They didn't have a great game. We didn't skate well tonight. We didn't compete. We played what was pretty much an AHL team, 20 guys who were hungry and fought hard the entire game.
"If our guys thought this one would be easy, let it be a lesson to them."
Pettersson leads Canucks past Senators
Defenceman Alex Edler also put up a four-point night for the Canucks with a goal and three assists, while J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat also found the back of the net.
Brock Boeser added three assists for Vancouver in the victory.
Chris Tierney and Rudolfs Balcers each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who also got tallies from Bobby Ryan and Artem Anisimov.
The Canucks power play was critical in the victory, with the team capitalizing on four-of-eight opportunities with the man advantage.
Vancouver got off to a fiery start, peppering Anders Nilsson with shots, but it was Ottawa who made it on to the scoreboard first on Monday.