In the Hockey Day in Canada headlining game, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against their biggest rival, the Montreal Canadiens.

Toronto came out flat. There is no easy way to put it, they were just heavily outplayed. Montreal was able to score 3 goals in the first frame, Josh Anderson scored the third (and final) Canadiens goal, only nine seconds after Patrik Laine scored on the man advantage to bring the game to 2-0.

The next 40 minutes were a lot better on the side of the blue and white. Bobby McMann cut it to 3-1 with his 13th of the season, when he drove in on a 2-on-1 and scored on a wrist shot just past the right faceoff dot.

Nick Robertson put the Leafs within 1 when he was able to tip an Oliver Ekman-Larsson point shot past Montembeault on the powerplay at 18:46 of the second frame.

The third period is where the Leafs were able to take over. 24 seconds into the period, William Nylander tied the game after he beat Montreal defender Lane Hutson, and scored on a backhand on a wide open net after deking the Montreal goaltender. This goal was Nylander’s 27th of the season, in his 47th game.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson was next on the scoresheet, giving the Leafs the lead as he scored on a point shot as Montembeault was screened by one of his own defenders, as well as Max Pacioretty.

While the whole team is on a roll, Auston Matthews had to get in on the scoring. As a 4-on-4 expired and the leafs went on the penalty kill, Matthews scored the first SH goal of his career with a slap shot from the top of the slot.

Since Toronto was already leading, Steven Lorentz decided to get in on the scoring and made it 6-3 Maple Leafs. David Kampf scored on the empty net to secure a 7-3 lead, where the Leafs scored 7 unanswered to defeat one of their biggest rivals in a tough matchup.

The Maple Leafs were able to overcome a deep deficit, and that is due to this hockey club never quitting. No grit, no grind, no greatness. A quote put up in the Ford Performance Centre, is something that this hockey team now has ingrained in their heads. Toronto secured their 29th win, where Joseph Woll made some huge saves to keep the Leafs in the game, making 32 saves en route to the win.