Habs lose 4-1 to Leafs as Mathews scores 35th season goal

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (22) runs into referee Marc Joanette during first period NHL hockey action against the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday, April 28, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Montreal — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-best 35th goal of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch a playoff spot.

William Nylander, Jake Muzzin and Adam Brooks provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (31-13-5), which got 32 saves from Jack Campbell. Morgan Rielly and Jason Spezza added two assists each as the North Division leaders improved to 5-2-0 against their Original Six rivals in 2021.

Spezza is now tied with Canadiens legend Maurice (Rocket) Richard for 99th on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 966 career points.

Leafs winger Joe Thornton, who set the record as the oldest player in franchise history to score when he found the back of the net Saturday, helped set up Muzzin's goal to become just the seventh player in league history to register 1,100 career assists.

Toronto Maple Leafs' Joe Thornton (97) celebrates a goal against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) as Canadiens' Jon Merrill (28) and Alexander Romanov (27) look on during second period NHL hockey action Wednesday, April 28, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Nick Suzuki replied for Montreal (21-18-9), while Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.

The Leafs and fourth-place Canadiens -- set to go head-to-head three more times before the end of the regular season -- look poised to meet in the playoffs for the first time since 1979.

Toronto will now turn its immediate attention towards a two-game series at home beginning Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks, while Montreal, which remains six points up on the Calgary Flames for the North's final post-season berth, hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Friday before the Ottawa Senators come to town Saturday.

Already without winger Brendan Gallagher (broken thumb) and No. 1 goalie Carey Price (concussion), the Canadiens announced before Wednesday's game forward Jonathan Drouin is taking an indefinite leave of absence due to personal reasons.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead just 1:38 into the first period on a power play when Nylander finished off a pretty passing sequence at the lip of Allen's crease for his 15th goal of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell (36) makes a save as Montreal Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen (62) looks for a rebound during second period NHL hockey action Wednesday, April 28, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Playing their 16th game in 28 days because of schedule changes due to COVID-19, the Canadiens had trouble finding their legs early and were made to pay again at 8:44 on an incredible individual effort by Matthews.

After linemate Nick Foligno threw a pass into the middle that bounced off Suzuki, the Leafs' star centre knocked the puck out of mid-air and in the same breath swept his 35th past a surprised Allen.

Matthews now has 17 goals and 28 points in 21 career games against the Canadiens.

Josh Anderson had a chance at the other end to cut the lead in half, but fired wide with Campbell caught out of position before Allen denied Matthews on a breakaway to keep the home side down by two through 20 minutes.

Coming off a two-game sweep in Winnipeg after an 0-3-2 run, the Leafs would make it 3-0 at 6:27 of the second when Muzzin's point shot went off the stick on Canadiens defenceman John Merrill, who was battling in front with Thornton, for his third of the campaign.

Thornton joined Wayne Gretzky (1,963), Ron Francis (1,249), Mark Messier (1,193), Ray Bourque (1,169), Jaromir Jagr (1,155) and Paul Coffey (1,135) as the only players in NHL history to crack 1,100 assists.

Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with teammates Mitch Marner (16) and Nick Foligno (71) after scoring during first period NHL hockey action against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, April 28, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Having scored two goals or fewer in 10-of-12 games since Gallagher was injured April 5, the Canadiens came close later in the period, but Campbell stopped Joel Armia on a breakaway.

Suzuki finally got one back for Montreal -- which picked up a crucial two points in Calgary on Monday to provide some much-needed breathing room in the playoff chase -- at 15:15 when Suzuki was given too much room off the rush and fired through a screen off the post and in for his 10th.

The Canadiens got a power play five minutes into the third, but were unable to generate much, with rookie Cole Caufield double-clutching on the best chance in his second NHL game.

Toronto put the game out of reach at 8:15 when Spezza stole the puck from Allen behind Montreal's net and fed Brooks in front for his third.

Spezza's 966 points have come in 1,170 games, while Richard put up the same number in 978 contests.

Notes: Leafs captain John Tavares saw his point streak end at eight games. ... Drouin, 26, was placed on long-term injured reserve after missing Montreal's last three contests prior to Wednesday with an illness unrelated to COVID-19. ... The Leafs return to the Bell Centre on Monday before the teams wrap up the season series May 6 and 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2021.