Phillip Danault’s two-goal night sends Canadiens past Maple Leafs 4-1 in tidy road win

A quiet first period, then Danault broke it open

The first period offered contact and not much separation. Toronto finished the night with a 27-24 edge in hits and a 15-11 advantage in blocked shots, while Montreal held the overall shot edge at 29-25, but nothing reached the net in the opening 20 minutes. It was the kind of beginning that left room for one sharp sequence to define the rest of the evening.

That sequence arrived 51 seconds into the second. Phillip Danault put Montreal ahead with a wrist shot, with Zack Bolduc and Alexandre Texier on the assists, and the Canadiens had the first clean reward of the night. It mattered because Montreal never needed a flood of offense to control the scoreboard; it only needed to keep nudging Toronto back onto its heels at the right moments.

Toronto did answer, and the answer came from the one area where the Maple Leafs held a clear opportunity edge. Darren Raddysh tied the game at 16:39 of the second on a slap shot, with Auston Matthews and John Tavares assisting, and it stood as Toronto’s only power-play conversion in six chances. That goal gave the Leafs life, but it also framed the rest of the night: plenty of opportunity, not enough payoff.

The tie did not last long enough for Toronto

A 1-1 score heading to the third suggested a finish that could tilt on one mistake. Montreal made sure it tilted on one finish instead. At 4:46 of the third, Maksymilian Szuber restored the Canadiens’ lead with a wrist shot off feeds from Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson. In a game that never featured a huge shot gap, that kind of early third-period strike carried extra weight because it forced Toronto to chase again rather than build on its late-second equalizer.

The Canadiens did not win this by overwhelming Toronto everywhere. They won it by being more efficient where the game kept resetting. Montreal owned 54.5 percent of the faceoffs, and some of its centers were especially sharp: Newhook went 6-for-7 and Kirby Dach 6-for-8. Toronto still got volume from Matthews, who had six shots and an assist, and William Nylander added three shots, but the Leafs could not turn their better-known shooters into an even-strength breakthrough.

Danault settled the matter late. His second goal at 18:59 made it 3-1, with Josh Anderson and Florian Xhekaj collecting assists, and Sam Poulin added a tip-in at 19:37 from Filip Mesar and Reilly Walsh. That closing minute said a lot about Montreal’s night. The Canadiens got finishing from Danault, depth from Szuber and Poulin, and enough structure around it to make Toronto’s late push feel short of ideas. Montreal also split the goaltending load and still posted 24 total saves with a .960 team save percentage.

Our take: the details told the truth of this score

Our take: this result feels convincing because the underlying details point in the same direction as the final score. Montreal went 0-for-3 on the power play and still won by three, which means the Canadiens handled the larger share of the game outside special teams. Toronto, by contrast, had six power plays and came away with one goal, while failing to score at even strength. When a team gets that many extra-man opportunities and its only offense comes from a defenseman’s power-play slap shot, the issue is not effort alone; it is that the possession advantage is not becoming enough direct production.

There is still a caution flag for Montreal inside a strong win. Seven penalties for 17 minutes is too much to hand a skilled opponent, even if the penalty kill survives five of six. The Canadiens also finished with 10 giveaways, the same as Toronto, so this was not a flawless puck-management night. For the Maple Leafs, the fix starts with turning territorial moments into more than 25 shots and one goal. Matthews and Tavares were involved in the tying goal, and Matthews led the team in shots, but Toronto needed more than a single special-teams conversion. Montreal’s 4-1 road win was not built on mystery. It was built on winning enough draws, finishing the better of a close game, and owning the third period when the scoreboard was still asking the question.

Scoring moments

1. 2nd · 0:51

   Phillip Danault Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Zachary Bolduc (1), Alexandre Texier (1)

2. 2nd · 16:39

   Darren Raddysh Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Auston Matthews (1), John Tavares (1)

3. 3rd · 4:46

   Maksymilian Szuber Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Alex Newhook (1), Mike Matheson (1)

4. 3rd · 18:59

   Phillip Danault Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Josh Anderson (1), Florian Xhekaj (1)

5. 3rd · 19:37

   Samuel Poulin Goal (1) Tip-In, assists: Filip Mesar (1), Reilly Walsh (1)