Multiple Leafs give their thoughts on an embarrassing loss to the Canadiens
The Leafs held, 1-0 and 2-1 leads against the Montreal Canadiens in the season opener, but Cole Caufield's pair of goals to tie the game in both cases eventually led to Sean Monahan giving the Habs the lead with 3 minutes to go. That's when things went back and forth, with William Nylander tying the game just over a minute later before Josh Anderson potted the game winner with around 18 seconds left, thanks to a terrible giveaway by Jake Muzzin in the Leafs' defensive zone.
Postgame, an irritated Sheldon Keefe called out his team's sloppiness and certainly let them hear it behind closed doors before the media was allowed to speak with the team. It was a somber mood in the room as players addressed the media.
"Tough one to swallow in the last few minutes. We give one up, we tie it, and we give one up again. So, disappointing," captain John Tavares said of how the game ended.
The longest tenured Leaf, Morgan Rielly, said, "There is no excuse that we're going to accept. Yes, it's our first game, but we were ready." Meanwhile, Denis Malgin, who scored in his debut alongside Tavares and William Nylander said, "It was a fun game for the fans, not so much us."
It was a sloppy game all around for both teams, with plenty of turnovers. The Leafs won't have much time to dwell on it though as they are back in action tonight with Washington in town for their home opener. Ilya Samsonov is expected to start against his former team. The Leafs are going to have to tighten up and bring a better work ethic to the table on Thursday if they want to avoid an 0-2-0 start to their season.
