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Toronto Maple Leafs clinch home ice advantage in Round 1 with 1-0 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens

Originally posted on 6IX ON ICE | By Anthony William | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 12:33 PM ET

Heading into last night’s game, the Toronto Maple Leafs led first place in the Atlantic Division by two points with a game in hand on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Montreal Canadiens were on the second half of a back-to-back where they failed to clinch a playoff berth against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1. Even though this was game 79, this game had a lot on the line for both teams.

The Maple Leafs were without Oliver Ekman-Larsson, as he is day-to-day with an injury. Due to salary cap constraints, the Maple Leafs were unable to call up a defenceman. So the Maple Leafs played with five defencemen, with honorary defenceman Mitch Marner getting some shifts in OEL’s stead.

Let’s take a look at some of the key storylines coming out of last night’s game.

The Maple Leafs continue to ramp up

Unlike previous seasons, the Maple Leafs would enter the playoffs cold. With the overtime win last night, the Maple Leafs are 7–2–1 in their last 10 games, with three games remaining. The Maple Leafs’ power play has six goals in their last 10 games. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs went 0–4 on the power play last night, but the power play generally looked dangerous.

The Maple Leafs outshot the Canadiens almost 3:1 all game, with a final shot differential of 35–15. The Maple Leafs held the Canadiens to just one shot for the first 14 minutes of the third period. While the score wasn’t reflective of the chances, the Leafs got a lot of quality chances. Jakub Dobeš kept the Canadiens in the game.

Defensively, Toronto was able to stymie rush chances by the Canadiens and block the neutral zone. On the penalty kill, the Maple Leafs’ killers forced the Canadiens to the perimeter. The Maple Leafs got in the shooting lanes all night, blocking 18 shots and punished the Canadiens, registering 24 hits on the night.

This type of hockey is what fans have wanted the Maple Leafs to play all year. There isn’t a “playoff hockey switch” that can be flicked on. The team needs to play this brand of hockey well before the playoffs start, and so far they have been since March.

Anthony Stolarz should start Game 1

Anthony Stolarz generally had a quiet night last time, except for some key moments. But a good goaltender shows up in those key moments and gives you a chance to win. Stolarz did just that, stopping all 15 shots to record the shutout. One key moment was in the second period against several Canadiens’ chances:

tense moments for the Leafs as the Habs stack chances pic.twitter.com/XSf9RQ2fLu
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 13, 2025

Another key moment was in overtime against the Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki:

Stolarz is patient with Suzuki at the other end

he hits the side of the net pic.twitter.com/jK8yXYr6wC
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 13, 2025

Stolarz recorded his 20th win and third shutout of the season last night. On the season, Stolarz has a .923 save percentage, second in the NHL. He’s fourth in the league with a 2.28 GAA. The beauty? Stolarz is signed for another season at $2.5M. One of Brad Treliving’s best offseason acquisitions.

At this point, while his tandem goaltending partner, Joseph Woll, has played decently this year, I think Stolarz is the goaltender you ride in Game 1 of the playoffs. Stolarz continues to show up in the high-pressure moments, something that the Maple Leafs desperately needed in playoff games.

Mitch Marner comes through yet again

Mitch Marner has been a monster since the 4 Nations: Face-Off tournament. Since the tournament, he has nine goals and 17 assists. Notably, Marner has been shooting more since the tournament, and this is a good thing. Marner has long been criticized for his past-first mentality. However, his shot is an underrated weapon in his arsenal:

MITCH MARNER! OVERTIME WINNER pic.twitter.com/kfLq1RyAY1
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 13, 2025

Marner is such a deceptive player with and without the puck, which makes him versatile. It’s probably why former head coach Sheldon Keefe and current head coach Craig Berube play him on the penalty kill. It’s also probably why he sees himself on defence in a pinch. While the power play did not score last night, Marner looked very good playing the defenceman quarterback on the power play.

With the overtime winner last night, Marner now has 98 points, two away from his first 100-point season and a new career high in points. He already has a career high of 72 assists, which puts him third in the NHL. Marner is already going to make bank this offseason, whether it’s with Toronto or another NHL team. But with how Marner is playing this season, perhaps he will help carry the Maple Leafs through a deep playoff run.

Onto the next

The Maple Leafs won their 10th straight home game against the Canadiens last night and prevented the Canadiens from clinching a playoff berth. The Maple Leafs play again today against the Carolina Hurricanes at an earlier 5 PM start time. With the Florida Panthers winning 3–2 in a shootout against the Buffalo Sabres last night, the race to win the Atlantic is still on.

The Maple Leafs have an opportunity to further create separation in the standings from the Lightning and Panthers. If the Maple Leafs obtain three more points, then they will win the division for the first time with this group. Either way, these games still matter.

This article first appeared on 6IX ON ICE and was syndicated with permission.

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