Knee Jerk Reaction: Maple Leafs clinch home ice advantage with 1-0 win vs. Canadiens

Lorentz is about the biggest Leafs fan in a Leafs jersey the Maple Leafs have had recently, of the Toronto-born players they’ve acquired anyway. And that says a lot considering that a picture of John Tavares sleeping in a Leafs-themed bed inspired a half-decade’s worth of material for New York Islanders fans. Lorentz just gets it.

You’d think with the way I started this article, that Lorentz was the hero of the game. He wasn’t, but as he alluded to in his tweet, the success of the team is all that matters, and despite a legacy performance from Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, the Leafs managed to seal an overtime victory off the stick of Mitch Marner.

It’s hard to pin a single hero in this game, even with Marner’s overtime winner, because the unit as a whole did about everything you could ask of a team with only five defenceman dressed. The Canadiens have been playing with as much ambition as anyone down the stretch, with the likelihood of a return to the playoffs increasing by the day, and the Leafs were able to contain them all game. And they did it in style.

The Leafs ended the game outshooting the Habs 35-15, blocking 18 shots to Montreal’s 13 and out-hitting them 24 to 21. Anthony Stolarz was rock solid in the Leafs’ end despite a mostly uneventful evening, collecting his third shutout of the season and his seventh win in a row, which is the longest winning streak of his career. To have him and Joseph Woll playing close to the top of their game at this stage of the season is something that could prove to be a huge advantage for them once the playoffs arrive, and something they haven’t gotten in a while, quite frankly.

It will be a quick turnaround for them, hopping on a flight and heading down to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes in a rare 5 pm Sunday affair. It’s fair to expect a sloppy game given the conditions, but if the Leafs can find a way to collect another two points, they’ll put themselves six points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and have them knocking on the door for a first-place clinch and a likely matchup against the Ottawa Senators in the first round.