Canadiens force Game 7 with 3-2 overtime win against Maple Leafs

Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored at 15:15 of overtime as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday to force a seventh and deciding game in their first-round playoff series.

Corey Perry and Tyler Toffoli had the goals in regulation for Montreal. Carey Price made 41 saves inside an electric Bell Centre _ the first Canadian hockey crowd since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly 15 months ago.

With his team struggling to generate anything in the extra period – Montreal was outshot 13-2 – Kotkaniemi ripped his third of the playoffs glove side from the high slot after Toronto defenceman Travis Dermott, who was in the lineup for Rasmus Sandin after a rough Game 5, turned the puck over to Paul Byron along the boards in the Leafs’ zone.

Jason Spezza and T.J. Brodie scored for Toronto, which beat Price twice with under 10 minutes to go in regulation to tie it. Jack Campbell stopped 28 shots for the suddenly wobbly Leafs.

The Canadiens, who won Game 5 in overtime at Scotiabank Arena and are looking to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win for the third time in franchise history, now head to Toronto for Monday’s finale with wind firmly in their sails.

The Leafs, meanwhile, desperately need to get back on track or face the prospect of another disastrous playoff exit for a team and fan base that’s suffered without a Stanley Cup, or much to get excited about, for the last 54 years.

The winner of Toronto-Montreal will take on Winnipeg after the Jets registered a surprising sweep of Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers.

The game marked the first time since March 2020 that a Canadian NHL team welcomed fans into their arena with some 2,500 in attendance at the 21,273-seat Bell Centre after Quebec loosened COVID-19 restrictions.

The Canadiens gave priority to season-ticket holders, luxury-suite holders, and corporate partners to purchase tickets in pods of two or four. Ticket buyers were allowed to resell tickets and some of the cheapest seats were selling for just under $1,500 on Ticketmaster while there were reports of some tickets going for as much as $12,000.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Montreal Canadiens season-ticket holder Rob Koehler said. “It’s part of history, things starting to open up.”

“It feels good, man,” said Yves Bissonnette, sporting a red Montreal sweater.

Assigned seats where spectators could sit were adorned with rally towels – no closer than seven rows from the ice on the penalty box side and 12 rows up behind the nets and benches – while organist Diane Bibeau played for the crowd before fans booed the Leafs and cheered the Canadiens as they stepped on the ice.

All fans had to socially distance from those outside their pod and those aged five and up were required to wear a mask except when eating or drinking and only bottled water was sold at concessions.

Fans sang O Canada without accompaniment in a emotion-stirring rendition that sounded like a lot more than just 2,500 people.