I hope the biggest impact of this game is psychological. The PP goals, Matthews goal, and the win should do wonders to get the Leafs some sorely needed confidence in playoff games, while at the other end hopefully both Montreal and Price are questioning themselves about their ability to play at the Leafs' level.
That Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Engvall trio is really effective (even Mik was throwing the body around!). Muzzin and Bogosian had strong, unheralded games tonight, while that first goal by Spezza... the veteran putting a dejected team on his shoulders. Montreal fans are whining about the penalties, and certainly we can't count on 5 straight PPs every night, but none of them were not legitimate. Stop crosschecking, stop slashing, stop running picks, and you won't get called -- of course it is also that type of game that is their only hope to beat us. So they pray that the officials swallow their whistles and complain when they don't.
I don't know if that Simmonds slash was retaliation for the hit on Engvall (which likely only escapes a fine/suspension because Engvall wasn't injured) or a product of his earlier scuffle with Edmundson, but it was a richly deserved cheap shot at a player and team that have been taking far too many liberties over the past two games.
Finally... despite this being a relatively solid game, I still feel we have more in the tank, and the reason for that is the 1st line: Marner is still MIA (despite the assist), Hyman still needs to get his feet under him, and together they seem to be holding Matthews back a bit. We really need that line to come to life, especially with Tavares out.
