Maple Leafs clinch division title with win over Montreal, and it was a long time coming

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This article was published 08/05/2021 (1971 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Maple Leafs are kings of the North. And soon, they’ll be vaccinated kings of the North.

Pierre Engvall, William Nylander and Mitch Marner all scored in a second-period rally as the Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 Saturday night in the final meeting of the season between the two teams, setting off an emotional celebration in front of goalie Jack Campbell.

“(Winning the division) is something we wanted to try to accomplish at the start of the season, our goal,” said Marner. “But there’s more that we want to accomplish. We just got to make sure we just keep the pedal down.”

Up next, they’ll get their first shot to guard against COVID-19 on Sunday. The league announced Saturday it would begin to relax COVID-19 protocols for teams and players that were fully vaccinated once the playoffs start.

“Obviously happy,” Marner said about getting vaccinated. “We’ve done the waiting process, and made sure that everyone in Toronto can get it. Now there’s enough doses that our team is lucky enough to be able to get it as well.

“It’s just trying to make sure all of Toronto, Ontario and Canada gets better and healthier and making sure we get through COVID as healthy as possible with everyone.

• Cup dreams: With two regular season games to go, a date for the start of the North Division playoffs has yet to be set.

But this edition of the Leafs has clinched something few Leafs teams have ever earned: a regular-season division title.

The win clinched first place in the North Division and all but assured a first-round matchup with fourth-place Montreal in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Leafs haven’t played the Canadiens in the post-season since 1979, and would go into the series as the heavy favourites. The Leafs finished with a 7-2-1 record against the Canadiens.

It was the Leafs’ seventh win in eight games (7-0-1) and with two games to go in the regular season, it’s the right time to get hot.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Leafs winger Wayne Simmonds. “ Honestly, being from Scarborough and watching the Leafs play growing up, I don’t know if I remember the Leafs winning their division. So for me and for the team, this is a great accomplishment and it’s only getting started.”

The last Leafs team to win a division regular-season title — the only one of the expansion era, it turns out — was captained by Mats Sundin with Curtis Joseph providing the heroics in net and Pat Quinn behind the bench. It was the 1999-2000 season, a five-team Northeast Division, the franchise’s first 100-point season. They bowed out after two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, a Leafs era with regular Cup hopes accompanied by just as many playoff disappointments.

This John Tavares-captained squad has Cup aspirations too, the mission of finishing as high as possible in Canada now accomplished.

The President’s Trophy is likely out of reach. All that remains is finishing ahead of other top teams in the hope for home-ice advantage in the third round, should they get that far. The first two rounds — which will produce a team with Canadian bragging rights — will be held within the North Division.

• By the numbers: Auston Matthews didn’t score — which is almost as noteworthy as any other player scoring — and remained at a league-leading 40.

As the season winds down, it should be noted that some Leafs not named Auston Matthews are also putting up incredible numbers. Marner has points in all but five games since March 25, with 27 points in his last 22 games.

And look at that second line. With his goal, Nylander now has points in seven straight games (three goals, four assists) and has 15 points in his last 12 games. Tavares is also on fire, with 21 points in his last 17 games. And along for the ride, Alex Galchenyuk, with four points in his last five games after a five-game pointless drought.

• Habs win first: The Canadiens were apparently intent on not being embarrassed by the Leafs in the first period two games in a row. If you recall Thursday, the Leafs scored on the first shift, were up 2-0 in no time at all and led 4-0 by the end of the first period. But Saturday was different. Montreal carried the play in the opening 20 minutes, leading 1-0 on a goal by Brent Kulak.

• Leafs win second: Toronto got back on track in the second period, sparking to life after Nick Suzuki beat Jack Campbell from the wing, a shot Campbell normally saves. Goals by Engvall, Nylander and Marner launched the Leafs into the third period holding a one-goal lead.

• Andersen update: Goalie Frederik Andersen played a full game Saturday for the Marlies, dropping a 5-4 decision in a shootout. It was his second start, and first full game while recovering from a knee injury.

“I was able to push a little bit more and obviously play the whole game which was great,” said Andersen. “I felt like I was able to up the intensity a little bit in the last two thirds of the game. I felt better and had more fun too playing. But there are some things I’ve just got to keep working on.”

Andersen stopped 34 of 38 shots and two of four in the shootout.

“He made some big saves in the second period,” said Marlies coach Greg Moore. “He gave us what we needed to win a hockey game. Wish we had done a better job around our net, net-front, boxing out and letting him see some shots.”

• Honorary degree: Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe will receive an honorary degree from Algonquin College in June, an acknowledgment from the post-secondary institution of Keefe’s contributions his time as coach of the Junior A Pembroke Lumber Kings. Keefe’s Lumber Kings won the national Junior A championship a decade ago.

“My connection to the city of Pembroke and the Lumber Kings and the Ottawa Valley, in general, is a very strong one,” said Keefe. “I certainly wouldn’t be here today without the support of that community. Algonquin College is a real pillar in the community itself and represents a lot of things that the Ottawa Valley stands for.”

Kevin McGran is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @kevin_mcgran