Canadiens recover again, defeat Maple Leafs in OT in Game 6

MONTREAL --Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored at 15:15 of overtime and the Montreal Canadiens avoided elimination for the second straight game with a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Following a turnover by Maple Leafs defenseman Travis Dermott, Kotkaniemi took a pass from Paul Byron in the slot and scored on a shot that deflected off Zach Bogosian and past Jack Campbell's glove.
"It's pretty remarkable," Kotkaniemi said. "It was a great feeling, especially with the fans in the stands."
A crowd of about 2,500 was permitted to attend the game, the first among the seven Canada-based NHL teams with fans since March 11, 2020.
"It was pretty cool going out for warmups and seeing them, seeing the towels go," Canadiens forward Tyler Toffoli said. "They were fired up and they definitely gave us that emotion to start the game. And I thought we played really good. Obviously, a couple of tough bounces, but we stuck with it, and obviously a big goal by 'KK.'"
Toffoli and Corey Perry each scored a power-play goal, and Carey Price made 41 saves for Montreal, the No. 4 seed in the Scotia North Division, which blew a two-goal lead in the third period for the second straight game before recovering to win in overtime.
"There's no quit in this group, and even though we've given up leads in the last couple games, we grinded it out," Canadiens captain Shea Weber said. "Tonight, I thought 'Pricey' played unbelievable. He kept us in it, especially in overtime there when they were pushing, and gave us a chance, and obviously that made the difference."

Jason Spezza and TJ Brodie scored, and Campbell made 28 saves for Toronto, the No. 1 seed, which outshot Montreal 13-2 in overtime.
"Clearly, [Price] is playing very well," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's the backbone of their team. We knew that going in, but I don't feel like our guys are intimidated by any means. … We're not getting a great deal of great looks at the goaltender, especially here tonight. We've got to do a better job of getting inside and making it hard on him.
"You look at a lot of the goals and the way they're going in, they are hitting off bodies and redirections and stuff like that. We've got to focus on those kind of things."
Game 7 is in Toronto on Monday (7 p.m. ET; CNBC, CBC, SN, TVAS). The winner will play the No. 3 seed Winnipeg Jets in the second round.
"I think it's obviously frustrating losing the game," Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews said. "But battling back the way we did, and obviously we had plenty of chances, it's a game of inches out there in overtime to obviously end the game, and we couldn't get it done. We're going to move on, and we've got another game here. We're going back home and we've got to be ready."

Perry gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 5:26 of the third period, shooting into an open net after Campbell was unable to cover the puck during a scramble in the crease. Keefe challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld after a video review, resulting in a penalty for delay of game.
On the power play, Toronto forward Mitchell Marner was assessed a penalty for delay of game when he shot the puck over the glass, giving Montreal a 5-on-3 advantage. Toffoli scored with a quick shot short side from in front to make it 2-0 at 6:43.
Prior to Perry's goal, the Canadiens were 0-for-15 on the power play in the series.
"We weren't really sure how that one would go," Keefe said of challenging Perry's goal. "But given what was happening in the game, with the significance of the goal, we thought in the moment that it was worthy of a challenge, and having confidence in our penalty kill if we needed to get it done like it has all series for us. Obviously, we end up being 5-on-3, so it doesn't go the way we want it to."
Spezza scored his third goal of the series to cut it to 2-1 at 11:35, kicking the puck to his stick before shooting top shelf from in front.
Brodie tied it 2-2 with 3:11 left when his slap shot from the right circle deflected off Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry's skate and beat Price under his arm.
NOTES: The Canadiens are the first team to surrender a multigoal third-period lead in consecutive playoff games facing elimination and win each of them. … Maple Leafs forward Nick Foligno had three shots, three hits, and was plus-1 in 18:37 after missing three games with a lower-body injury. … Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin left in the second period because of a lower-body injury. No update was provided after the game. … Canadiens forward Jake Evans had one shot and five hits in 23:05 after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. … The Maple Leafs won the only previous Game 7 between the teams in the 1964 semifinals, when Dave Keon scored a hat trick in a 3-1 win at the Montreal Forum.