Former Canadiens Lead Maple Leafs To Game Two Win

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won just two playoff rounds in
21 years; needless to say, Auston Matthews and co. have never made it past the
second round. On Wednesday night, the Leafs had the opportunity to go up 2-0 against
the Florida Panthers, and it was a chance they wouldn’t let slip away.

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Thanks to a 4-3 win over the Cats, Toronto now has a serious
option in the series, but to get there, they needed big input from two former Montreal
Canadiens: Max Pacioretty and Max Domi.

Former Habs captain Pacioretty put the Leafs on the board on
the power play after falling behind 1-0 on an Alexander Barkov goal midway
through the first frame. The man advantage marker was scored with less than two
minutes left in the period and came with assists from Morgan Rielly and Domi.

The Panthers regained the lead 15 seconds into the second
frame, but Pacioretty notched the primary assist on William Nylander’s
game-tying goal a little over four minutes later. Domi then gave Toronto a
one-goal lead less than three minutes before the end of the period.

The Leafs again allowed the Panthers to come back when Anton
Lundell scored five minutes into the final frame, but Mitch Marner called the game
with a big goal just 17 seconds later.

Pacioretty and Domi were named the first two stars of the
game with a pair of points each, while Marner grabbed the third. Domi’s stay in
Montreal was short-lived. After being acquired from the now-defunct Arizona
Coyotes in return for Alex Galchenyuk, the second-generation NHLer had a great
first season in town, picking up 70 points. His second year with the Habs
didn’t go as planned, however, and his production dipped to 44 points in 71
games.

By the time the “bubble playoffs” turned up, he had lost coach
Claude Julien’s confidence and found himself skating on the fourth line, a sign
of things to come. In return for Josh Anderson, he was traded to the Columbus
Blue Jackets in the next off-season.

Since then, Tie Domi’s son has played for five teams but
seems to have found a home in Toronto. This is his second season with the Leafs,
and he is delivering for them in the playoffs, just like he did last year when
they were dispatched in seven games by the Boston Bruins. His performance led
the Toronto front office to sign him to a four-year deal with a $3,375,000 cap
hit.

It’s a shame it didn’t work out for Domi in Montreal since
he can play with a bit of sandpaper when needed, but ultimately, so can
Anderson, who has been a more than suitable replacement.

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