Pitlick scores in OT to lift Canadiens past Maple Leafs, 3-2

Jan 22, 2023, 04:33 am

MONTREAL -- — Rem Pitlick whipped a wrist shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov 2:14 into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

“That was definitely a very fun one to be a part of. It was a great pass by (Mike) Hoffman because he saw me coming with speed and he kind of was turning into a blind spot, if I remember correctly,” Pitlick said after his first career overtime goal.

“It was really nice having that play and to have the building go off like that. Saturday night against Toronto, it’s pretty cool.”

Josh Anderson and Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored as Montreal overcame a two-goal deficit to reach 20-24-3. Samuel Montembeault made 36 saves.

Mark Giordano and Calle Jarnkrok scored for Toronto. Samsonov stopped 28 shots.

“You can’t let up for even a second because this is a team, in this building especially, they’re going to play hard,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Just last week, they won in New York (Rangers), they beat the Jets pretty handily, in here.”

The Maple Leafs scored 53 seconds into the game when William Nylander sent a drop-back pass for Giordano in the slot and he beat Montembeault under the blocker. Jarnkrok made it 2-0 with 2:30 left in the first.

Anderson struck at 1:46 of the second and Harvey-Pinard scored his first goal of the season with 6:25 left in the period.

With 2:07 left in regulation, Nylander was called for high-sticking, giving Montreal a 4-on-3 power play for 1:01. Toronto successfully killed the penalty and the game went to overtime.

UP NEXT:

Maple Leafs: Host New York Islanders on Monday night.

Canadiens: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

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