Preseason Game 28
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 2
Sunday, September 26, 1993
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec
Team captain Guy Carbonneau said the Montréal Canadiens have settled down to business now that nearly all the rookies have cleared out of camp.
The Canadiens reduced their roster to 27 players by shipping out six young players yesterday, and the regulars responded with a 4-2 preseason victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Tonight we had the most veterans of all our exhibition games,” said Carbonneau, who had a goal and an assist. “That made it easier.
“It’s still training camp and you’ve got to try different players. There were guys on the verge of making the team and (coach) Jacques Demers had to give them a look. Now there are three preseason games left and it’s time for us to get going. You saw the difference tonight.”
Stéphan Lebeau, Benoît Brunet and Brian Bellows also scored as Montréal outshot the Leafs 41-25 for its first win in six exhibition games before a crowd announced at 15,880.
Dave Ellett and Todd Gill replied for Toronto, which dropped to 2-4 in the preseason – including a 6-2 win over the Canadiens in Toronto on Sept. 17.
“The last three days we’ve been down to 33 players and it was a lot easier in practice,” Carbonneau said. “You get to practice with your own line more.”
The Canadiens used four rookies – defenceman Peter Popovic and left winger Pierre Sévigny, who are almost certain to make the team, and right wingers Oleg Petrov and Turner Stevenson, one of whom should stay.
The Leafs used five new players, but coach Pat Burns gave no hints about how close they are to cracking the lineup. Toronto in particular is seeking help at centre and on the blueline.
Centres David Sacco, Yanic Perreault and Alexei Kudashov, as well as defencemen Matt Martin and Chris Snell, were the Leafs’ rookies.
“It could be someone like Sacco or there could be trades or we could end up with the same team as last year,” Burns said. “That’s the decisions we have to make.
“Doug Gilmour and Peter Zezel were out so we got to try some new centres and we don’t usually give up 40 shots, so Félix Potvin got some work in,” Burns said.
“There were a lot of positive things in this game.”
Gilmour served a one game suspension for a headbutting incident in a game against Washington last Thursday.
The game was tied 2-2 after two periods, but the Canadiens broke it open when Lebeau scored 26 seconds into the third period, and Carbonneau backhanded in an insurance goal at 4:08.
Story originally published in The Globe & Mail, September 27, 1993
BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL PEN – 04:12 – Schneider
TOR PP GOAL – 05:32 – Ellett (Borschevsky, Gill)
TOR PEN – 09:41 – Lefebvre
MTL PEN – 15:00 – Stevenson
MTL SH GOAL – 16:40 – Brunet (Carbonneau)
TOR PEN – 18:23 – Anderson
MTL PP GOAL – 19:21 – Bellows (Lebeau, Damphousse)
2nd Period
TOR GOAL – 05:28 – Gill (Andreychuk)
MTL PEN – 05:28 – Desjardins, misconduct
TOR PEN – 06:14 – Rouse
TOR PEN – 10:11 – Gill
MTL PEN – 10:11 – Bellows
TOR PEN – 17:15 – Gill, major
MTL PEN – 17:15 – Odelein, major
TOR PEN – 19:04 – Potvin
MTL PEN – 19:04 – Carbonneau
TOR PEN – 19:04 – Pearson
MTL PEN – 19:04 – Schneider, double minor
TOR PEN – 19:04 – Rouse, double minor
TOR PEN – 19:39 – Martin
3rd Period
MTL PP GOAL – 00:26 – Lebeau (Brisebois, Petrov)
TOR PEN – 01:50 – Lefebvre
MTL PEN – 01:50 – Bellows
MTL GOAL – 04:08 – Carbonneau (Odelein, Schneider)
MTL PEN – 06:48 – Schneider
MTL PEN – 08:03 – Odelein
MTL PEN – 11:01 – Stevenson
TOR PEN – 12:43 – Rouse
TOR PEN – 17:48 – Gill
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Roy (W, 23-25)
TOR – Potvin (L, 37-41)
SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 12+13+16 = 41
TOR – 10+6+9 = 25
Two Solitudes 