Michael Ryder had little trouble finding the net last season, except when it came to shootouts. But it appears he's on his way to rectifying that problem.
The Canadiens right-winger beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft with a wrist shot to the glove side on Montreal's fourth attempt to give his team a 3-2 shootout victory over the hometown Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
It was Ryder's first shootout goal in six tries dating back to the start of the 2005-06 NHL season.
Canadiens forward Mike Johnson, middle, gets congratulations from teammates Mathieu Dandenault, left, and Alexander Perezhogin after his third-period goal in Toronto.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
On Friday, Ryder was denied by Buffalo's Ryan Miller when he changed his mind at the last second and opted to put a move on the Sabres netminder instead of shooting.
"I knew my parents [back in Newfoundland] were watching Hockey Night in Canada so to do it on national TV is pretty special," said Ryder, who topped the Canadiens with 30 goals last year.
"[Friday] night I deked and didn't have much success and the guys tonight were yelling at me to shoot. I was shooting all the way."
Right decision
He made the right decision, giving coach Guy Carbonneau his first win as Montreal's coach, while dealing the Leafs their second consecutive home loss to start the season.
"I've waited a long time for this opportunity," said Carbonneau. "The guys are real happy. [Friday] night's [5-4 shootout loss in Buffalo] left a bad taste in their mouth. The guys came back strong, even though they were tired, and played a great game."
Ryder's goal ended a string of three consecutive shots off the post in the shootout — Darcy Tucker and Alexei Ponikarovsky for Toronto and Alexei Kovalev for Montreal.
"Everyone enjoys it except probably the goalies," Raycroft said of the shootout. "We understand why it's there, but it's not always the best way to end a game."
Sheldon Souray and former Maple Leaf Mike Johnson also scored for the Canadiens (1-1), who have won four of the last five meetings between the teams.
Replying for Toronto (1-1-1) was Matt Stajan and Tucker — with his third in three games — while Kyle Wellwood earned his fifth assist in the past two contests.
Goalies shine
Both Raycroft and his Montreal counterpart David Aebischer stood out — particulary in overtime — and finished with 31 and 36 saves, respectively.
Raycroft was also forced to come up big late in regulation with the Leafs short-handed twice in the final five minutes.
After finishing 21st in the 30-team NHL on the penalty-kill a year ago, Toronto has killed off 12 of 13 opposition power plays in three games this season.
But defensive-zone coverage — another weakness for the Leafs in 2005-06 — was their downfall late in Saturday's game.
After Toronto lost possession of the puck behind its own net, Montreal's Alexander Perezhogin found Johnson, who beat Raycroft with a low shot from the slot.
Stajan gave the Leafs a 2-1 advantage at 4:38 of the second period after the teams exchanged power-play goals in the opening 20 minutes.
After pouncing on a loose puck at the top of Canadiens' crease, he made good on his second attempt at a shot, lifting the puck into the net over a fallen Souray.
"It's a hard pill to swallow, especially because we were playing hard and had the lead heading into the third period," Stajan said.
Wozniewski injured
Toronto played most of the game without defenceman Andy Wozniewski, who suffered a shoulder injury on his first shift after taking a hit from Chris Higgins.
"Significant," Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice said of the injury before adding that Wozniewski would be re-evaluated Sunday.
Former Leafs Ed Belfour, Joe Niewendyk, Gary Roberts and the rest of the Florida Panthers visit Toronto on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Montreal is off until Wednesday when it completes a three-game road trip in Philadelphia against the Flyers at 7 p.m. ET.
With files from the Canadian Press
