Welcome back Bryan McCabe! It’s quite humorous how Leaf fans bash and boo McCabe for the mistakes he makes, but long for him when he is injured. Our depleted Leafs team desperately needed bolstering, and McCabe does just that. After missing 2 months of hockey, McCabe jumped into the lineup against Montreal and had a fantastic game. Within the first few minutes, McCabe was the lone player flying in on a rush, received a quick pass and tipped it towards the goal, forcing Carey Price to make a great save. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things.

Montreal’s head coach Guy Carbonneau was quoted saying, “We weren’t ready to battle.” When the game started it seemed like they were ready. Tomas Plekanec scored at 11:09 of the first to get things started. Montreal was skating better and, for the most part, controlling the play. However, that did not last too long. AHL call-up Kris Newbury blasted home a one-timer to tie the game at 17:24, and the Leafs went to the dressing room with the game knotted at 1 apiece.

The second period was a different story. While the Canadiens out-shot the Leafs (11 to 8), the Buds were the one’s controlling the play. Tucker scored his first of two goals (although the second was an empty net goal) at 1:24 of the second frame, and Wellwood scored his first goal in 16 games, on the powerplay, at the end of the frame.

Montreal came into this game 1 point back of Ottawa for top spot in the Eastern Conference. They sport the league’s best powerplay, and conversely, the Leafs are one of the league’s worst penalty killing teams. The Canadiens ended up 0 for 5 on the powerplay, and in the end, lost the game 4 - 2.

Carey Price gets his first loss against the Leafs, winning the previous 3 contests. He has looked great in net against the Buds in the past, but last night, he looked like a 20 year old goalie.

And the Leafs looked like they know how to play hockey.