Five Takeaways - Leafs vs. Canadiens - 04/07/18

1. Matthews extends points streak with power play goal to open scoring, overcome Toronto's lacklustre first frame. In their final regular-season game of the 2017-18 schedule, the Leafs did not outwork the Canadiens in the opening period, a fact reflected in Montreal's 10-6 shot advantage in the first 20 minutes of action. But, in a familiar pattern, Toronto's offence made the most of the chances it did receive - in particular, a late-period power play that centre Auston Matthews scored on to give his team the first lead of the night.

Matthews fired the puck past Habs goaltender Carey Price with 1:55 left before the first intermission after linemate William Nylander found him with a dazzling cross-ice pass that left a sizeable amount of open net to Price's right side. The goal was Matthews' 34th of the year, and it extended the sophomore NHLer's point streak to nine games - every game he's participated in since returning from injury March 22nd. And Nylander's assist gave him 61 points on the season, which is the same amount he posted in his first NHL campaign.

The chemistry between Matthews and Nylander has been apparent from the first time they played together, but with every game, week and month that passes, the duo (along with linemate Zach Hyman) seem to be better at sensing each other's instincts and capitalizing on them.

2. Habs pull even in middle period as teams give each other multiple man advantages. The Leafs had the only power play of the first period, but Toronto gave Montreal two consecutive man advantages in the first half of the second frame. The Buds' penalty kill prevented the Habs from scoring on either power play and the Canadiens wound up taking two minor penalties in the final 7:14 of the second, but the Leafs failed to extend their lead - and Montreal winger Daniel Carr netted his sixth goal of the year to even the score with 3:56 left in the period.

The Canadiens again outshot the Leafs in the middle period - this time, by a 10-8 count - and although Montreal's season was going to end no matter the outcome Saturday, they gave the Buds a battle and made them well-aware they'd need to put in a full-game effort if they wanted to set a new franchise record for standings points.

3. Leafs turn tables on Montreal in third, retake lead on Hyman marker.Toronto looked like a more focused squad in the third period, outshooting Montreal 11-2 through the first half of the frame and pressuring the Habs into another penalty 4:35 into the frame. But prior to that fourth man advantage, the Leafs took back the lead when winger Zach Hyman finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Matthews and scored his 15th goal of the season to make it 2-1 for the Buds at the 37-second mark.

Matthews picked up his 29th assist of the year, while blueliner Jake Gardiner - who recorded the secondary assist on Matthews' first-period goal - added another helper to boost his season point total to 52. Gardiner's assists gave him at least one point in 10 of his past 13 matches, and the multi-point game was his 10th of the year. Toronto's depth of offensively-skilled players is among the NHL's best, and with both Gardiner and fellow defenceman Morgan Rielly hitting the 50-point plateau this year, that depth clearly extends to the Buds' back end.

4. Andersen sets new Leafs mark for goalie wins, caps off career season between pipes.Leafs netminder Frederik Andersen stopped 31 of 33 Montreal shots to sew up his 38th victory of the year, breaking the old Leafs team record for goaltender wins in a single season (held prior to this year by Ed Belfour and Andrew Raycroft). The 28-year-old also set new career highs in shutouts (five) and topped his previous career-best of 35 wins (set with Anaheim in 2014-15).

As was true last season, Andersen was often Toronto's best player this year, keeping his team in games in which they were outshot heavily and giving the offence a chance to tie the score or go ahead. Saturday's tilt was very much in that same pattern, and Andersen now sits atop the Leafs' record books because of his consistency and the talent in front of him.

5. Kadri's power play goal ties goal total from last season, Marleau's marker locks up all-time best point total for Leafs. Buds centre Nazem Kadri recorded Toronto's third goal of the game - a power-play goal with 2:50 left in the third period - to tie his career-best goal total of 32 (set last season). And the veteran's scoring play turned out to be the game-winner, as Montreal scored their second of the night to cut the Leafs' lead to one goal with 40 seconds left in regulation.

However, the Leafs weren't done scoring, as forward Patrick Marleau intercepted a clearing attempt by Price to tap in an empty-netter for his 27th goal of the season. That tied Marleau's goal total from last year and gave him one more point (47 in total) than he produced in 2016-17, and locked up Toronto's all-time best points total of 105, as well as a 49-26-7 record.

The Leafs now await the rest of the NHL regular-season schedule to conclude Sunday before they learn whether they'll face Tampa Bay or Boston in the first round of the playoffs. Either opponent will present a serious challenge, but Toronto has shown they can compete with both the Lightning and the Bruins, and grow from their first-round playoff experience against Washington last spring.

In any case, Leafs Nation has to be thrilled at the state of the franchise right now, and although nothing is guaranteed to improve from this point on, the calibre of the team and the trajectory it has been on should make the city and Buds fans proud.