<p>Saturday&#8217;s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens provided hockey fans with one of the more exciting games of the season, while giving both fan bases a free ride on an emotional roller coaster.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
<p>If you didn&#8217;t catch the thriller, the Maple Leafs, who have been struggling lately, were down early to a Canadiens team that is playing their best hockey of the season, as they entered Saturday&#8217;s contest with a record of 8-2-1 in their previous 11 games. Montreal led Toronto 3-0 after 20 minutes, and the road team didn&#8217;t give their fan base much to cheer about. That was until the midway point of the second period when the Maple Leafs rallied back after a rough and uninspiring start, scoring seven unanswered goals (five in the third period) to come away with the 7-3 victory over a divisional rival.</p>
<p>In all of the craziness that transpired Saturday, here are five notable stats that came out of Saturday night&#8217;s contest:</p>
<h3>1. Toronto scores seven goals in a game for the first time this season</h3>
<p>Despite the 29-16-2 record, this season presented its highs and lows for the Maple Leafs. Trying to generate consistent goal-scoring has been at the forefront for the entire campaign thus far. For a team with offensive weapons like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, Toronto has struggled to score  this season, averaging just 3.04 goals per game entering Saturday.</p>
<p>Following their rough start, they exploded for seven goals in the final 30 minutes of the game, making it the first time this season the Maple Leafs have scored seven times.</p>
<h3>2. First 7-goal game since March 20, 2024</h3>
<p>Not only is it the first time the Maple Leafs have scored seven goals in a game this season, but it is the first time they&#8217;ve scored seven goals since March 20, 2024, a 7-3 win as well over the Washington Capitals.</p>
<p>Another interesting fact that correlates Saturday&#8217;s game with that March 20th contest against the Capitals: Joseph Woll was the starting goalie for the Maple Leafs, and Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Bobby McMann all scored as well.</p>
<h3>3. Mitch Marner passes Dave Keon for 4th all-time in assists</h3>
<p>Mitch Marner has been on a mission this season, and it might have to do with the 27-year-old being a pending UFA at the end of the season. He&#8217;s been producing at an elite rate all season, and Saturday was no different. With two more assists, Marner is sixth in the NHL for points (62), only behind Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and Mikko Rantanen.</p>
<p>But it was more than just a two-assist showing for him. With his short-handed assist on Matthews&#8217; third-period goal, Marner passed Dave Keon for fourth place on the franchise&#8217;s all-time list for assists with his 494th. His second assist on Steven Lorentz&#8217;s goal now puts him at 495, 33 away from passing Darryl Sittler for third all-time.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">With his assist on Auston Matthews’ goal at 7:58 of the third period, Mitch Marner (494 assists) has moved past Dave Keon (493 assists) for sole possession of fourth on the Maple Leafs’ all-time assist register.</p>
<p>&mdash; Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeafsPR/status/1880805228825706512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h3>4. Toronto&#8217;s first 7-goal game in Montreal since December 17, 1942</h3>
<p>Not only did the Maple Leafs score seven goals for the first time this season and the first time in almost a year, but it is the first time they&#8217;ve scored seven goals in Montreal since the 1942-43 season (December 17, 1942) via  Sportsnet Stats.</p>
<p>Babe Pratt (five points) and Syl Apps (four points) led the way for the Maple Leafs in their 8-1 victory over Montreal that night, improving their record to 10-7-1, at the time.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Maple Leafs score 7 goals at Montreal for the first time since an 8-1 victory on December 17, 1942</p>
<p>&mdash; Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNstats/status/1880811493257883934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h3>5. Max Domi&#8217;s 700th career game</h3>
<p>Although this specific stat isn&#8217;t crazy and didn&#8217;t affect the outcome of the game, it&#8217;s pretty cool that Max Domi, a former Canadiens, who suited up in 153 games for the franchise, played his 700th career game at the Bell Centre, a place he called home for two years.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old also recorded a point in his milestone game, an assist on Oliver Ekman-Larsson&#8217;s goal at 4:31 of the third period, which stood as the game-winner.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="qme" dir="ltr">7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ <a href="https://t.co/K68DIEQbnh">pic.twitter.com/K68DIEQbnh</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href="https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1880793122546008166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>


Saturday's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens provided hockey fans with one of the more exciting games of the season, while giving both fan bases a free ride on an emotional roller coaster.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
If you didn't catch the thriller, the Maple Leafs, who have been struggling lately, were down early to a Canadiens team that is playing their best hockey of the season, as they entered Saturday's contest with a record of 8-2-1 in their previous 11 games. Montreal led Toronto 3-0 after 20 minutes, and the road team didn't give their fan base much to cheer about. That was until the midway point of the second period when the Maple Leafs rallied back after a rough and uninspiring start, scoring seven unanswered goals (five in the third period) to come away with the 7-3 victory over a divisional rival.

In all of the craziness that transpired Saturday, here are five notable stats that came out of Saturday night's contest:
<h3>1. Toronto scores seven goals in a game for the first time this season</h3>
Despite the 29-16-2 record, this season presented its highs and lows for the Maple Leafs. Trying to generate consistent goal-scoring has been at the forefront for the entire campaign thus far. For a team with offensive weapons like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, Toronto has struggled to score  this season, averaging just 3.04 goals per game entering Saturday.

Following their rough start, they exploded for seven goals in the final 30 minutes of the game, making it the first time this season the Maple Leafs have scored seven times.
<h3>2. First 7-goal game since March 20, 2024</h3>
Not only is it the first time the Maple Leafs have scored seven goals in a game this season, but it is the first time they've scored seven goals since March 20, 2024, a 7-3 win as well over the Washington Capitals.

Another interesting fact that correlates Saturday's game with that March 20th contest against the Capitals: Joseph Woll was the starting goalie for the Maple Leafs, and Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Bobby McMann all scored as well.
<h3>3. Mitch Marner passes Dave Keon for 4th all-time in assists</h3>
Mitch Marner has been on a mission this season, and it might have to do with the 27-year-old being a pending UFA at the end of the season. He's been producing at an elite rate all season, and Saturday was no different. With two more assists, Marner is sixth in the NHL for points (62), only behind Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and Mikko Rantanen.

But it was more than just a two-assist showing for him. With his short-handed assist on Matthews' third-period goal, Marner passed Dave Keon for fourth place on the franchise's all-time list for assists with his 494th. His second assist on Steven Lorentz's goal now puts him at 495, 33 away from passing Darryl Sittler for third all-time.

https://Twitter.com/LeafsPR/status/1880805228825706512
<h3>4. Toronto's first 7-goal game in Montreal since December 17, 1942</h3>
Not only did the Maple Leafs score seven goals for the first time this season and the first time in almost a year, but it is the first time they've scored seven goals in Montreal since the 1942-43 season (December 17, 1942) via  Sportsnet Stats.

Babe Pratt (five points) and Syl Apps (four points) led the way for the Maple Leafs in their 8-1 victory over Montreal that night, improving their record to 10-7-1, at the time.

https://Twitter.com/SNstats/status/1880811493257883934
<h3>5. Max Domi's 700th career game</h3>
Although this specific stat isn't crazy and didn't affect the outcome of the game, it's pretty cool that Max Domi, a former Canadiens, who suited up in 153 games for the franchise, played his 700th career game at the Bell Centre, a place he called home for two years.

The 29-year-old also recorded a point in his milestone game, an assist on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's goal at 4:31 of the third period, which stood as the game-winner.

https://Twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1880793122546008166
<h2>Sponsored by bet365</h2>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

Recent articles from Joseph Zita

Breaking News