Apr 27, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri (43) is pulled down by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Raphael Diaz (61) and crashes into goaltender Peter Budaj (30) during the second period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Montreal Canadiens exacted a measure of revenge on the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, defeating them 4-1 at the Air Canada Centre on the final game of the regular season for both clubs. The season series ended with the Leafs winning three of five games against the Habs, outscoring them 16-11 along the way. Despite the loss, the Leafs locked up the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators losing to the Philadelphia Flyers last night. If the Senators lose tonight against the Boston Bruins, in regulation or otherwise, the Leafs’ first round opponent will be the Habs. If the Senators win, the Leafs will play the Bruins. Either way, the Leafs are guaranteed to start the playoffs on the road. But before we get there, let’s take a look back at some story lines from the game last night.

A Game To Forget

Randy Carlyle will probably want all video, images, and text accounts of last night’s game (including this recap) thrown in a bonfire so all remnants of the forgettable contest are gone forever. Maybe he could get Brian Burke’s lawyers to help him scour the internet for evidence. The first period started relatively well for the Buds as they opened the scoring with yet another Phil Kessel power play goal. The goal was Kessel’s 20th of this 48-game season, marking the fifth consecutive campaign of 20-or-more goals for the 25-year-old winger. Actually, in a full 82-game season that prorates to 34 goals, in which case it would be Kessel’s fifth consecutive 30-goal season. However, that was pretty much the only bright spot for the Leafs as everything went downhill from there. The Leafs mustered only one measly shot in a horrific second period, but were somehow only down two goals after 40 minutes as James Reimer kept the game within reach. But Reimer’s night would end when he let in a soft Tomas Plekanec goal over his right shoulder two-and-a-half minutes into the third and there would be no comeback on this night. As bad as this loss was for the Leafs, they need to shake it off quickly with the playoffs starting next week.

No Rest For Reimer

The Leafs clinched a playoff spot last Saturday, and with back-to-back games in Florida last week I thought for sure Carlyle would give Reimer at least one night off. No such luck. Maybe Carlyle wanted to get as many points as possible in the final three games to prevent a slide out of fifth. I still think it’s more important to make sure Reimer is fresh heading into a playoff series where he’ll be the most important player on the ice for the Leafs. Ben Scrivens has shown himself capable of playing well when called upon, and he deserves the right to spell Reimer for mostly-meaningless late-season games. Reimer has been a workhorse for the Leafs, playing 33 out of 48 contests. He’s also faced the most shots against per 20 minutes of even-strength ice time out of goaltenders who have played at least 1000 minutes, and is tenth in even-strength save percentage in that group. I don’t expect Reimer to collapse from exhaustion any time soon, but a little rest wouldn’t hurt the third-year player, either.

Potential Playoff Rematch?

The CBC is undoubtedly licking its chops at the prospect of these two teams facing off in a seven-game series, and if you’re a fan of either team, you have to feel the same way. As mentioned earlier, the Leafs have had a lot of success against the Habs this season, but the Habs have beaten the Leafs pretty handily in two of those games as well. Montreal probably has more speed top-to-bottom in their lineup compared to the Leafs, but the Buds match up pretty well in size and grit. At the end of the day though, any chance the Leafs have of advancing past the first round falls squarely on the shoulders of James Reimer. Likewise for the Habs, they’ll need Carey Price (who got the night off last night) to regain his mid-season form, after a bit of a tough stretch for him. It seems fitting that the Ottawa Senators have an opportunity to screw up the dream matchup with a win tonight. Happy playoffs everybody.

Apr 13, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri (43) controls the puck against the Montreal Canadiens at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens, 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat their rival the Montreal Canadiens for the third time this season in a dominant performance. The Leafs chased Carey Price from the game after just 10 minutes of play and the Canadiens were never able to recover. Toronto was the recipient of three awful goals en route to a 5-1 victory.

Montreal is arguably one of the quicker teams in the league when it comes to skating, but tonight they looked as though they didn’t have their legs. The Leafs won all the battles for loose pucks and created several odd-man rushes throughout the night. If the teams were to meet in a first-round playoff matchup, Toronto’s play against Montreal this season should give them plenty of confidence heading into a potential seven-game series.

Here are some things that stood out from the game.

Shots on Goal

Tonight Toronto won their 18^th game of the year when getting out shot, which leads the National Hockey League. If you believe in advanced stats and the value of scoring chances and out shooting your opponent, it would seem the Leafs are defying the odds in 2013. This contest was especially peculiar as after the first period the Canadiens had the edge in shots 13-5, but the Leafs owned a 4-1 lead. I keep thinking this is going to eventually catch up to them, although now I’m not so sure. There have been many strange anomalies this year and Toronto’s success despite being out shot just appears to be another one on the list. This should also show how important James Reimer has been this season and a 36 save performance tonight is more evidence of that.

Balance

With Joffrey Lupul’s latest injury once again keeping him out of the line-up, Toronto isn’t going to replace his contributions with just one player. It’s going to take a team effort and that mentality was on full display against the Canadiens. Toronto had five different players score a goal and 11 skaters found the score sheet in total. Not to mention only five players didn’t finish the game with a plus rating. James van Riemsdyk continued his strong play minus Lupul as he picked up two assists. Getting production from three lines will become even more magnified during the playoffs.

Special Teams

The key battle coming into this one was how Montreal’s 4^th ranked power play and Toronto’s 3^rd ranked penalty kill would do against one another. Not only that, but how the Leafs dealt with P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, who came into today first and second in power play points respectively in the NHL, would be crucial. Toronto clearly came out on top as Montreal went 0-for-4 with the man advantage and the Leafs held both Subban and Markov without a point.

Ryan O’Byrne

The more I see of O’Byrne, the more I like the move at the deadline by general manager Dave Nonis to bring him in. Initially I thought it was inconsequential, but having another defenseman with playoff experience could be vital in a few weeks. O’Byrne impressed tonight with some strong defensive plays and led the team with seven hits. He also picked up an assist and finished plus-2, which gives him two points and 14 hits in three games with the Leafs. He wasn’t acquired for offense, so the little he is actually putting up is just a nice bonus.