It doesn't matter if it's a prospect game or a regular season contest, Montreal and Toronto always bring the intensity to every matchup and Sunday was no different.
The Canadiens and Maple Leafs met at the Bell Centre in Montreal for the second and final game of the 2024 Prospect Showdown. Toronto took the first game on Saturday in a shootout and looked to carry that momentum into Sunday's game.
The intensity meter was high all game long, but things really kicked off in the third period. While attempting to play the puck below his own goal line after a dump-in by Montreal, Maple Leafs prospect Noah Chadwick was hit up high by Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch, younger brother of Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch.
Chadwick went down immediately in some discomfort but appeared to be okay afterwards. A scrum ensued after the hit by Luke Tuch, who was jumped by defenceman Rhett Parsons, who already had two cross-checking penalties in the game. While Parsons and Tuch were tangled up, Florian Xhekaj jumped in as well, which ended up costing the Canadiens shortly after.
After the dust settled and the officials figured out the penalty situation, the Maple Leafs headed to the powerplay where 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan scored, giving Toronto a 5-4 lead. Toronto would hold on to that lead in the final two minutes to take both games of the 2024 Prospect Showdown.
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens will now wrap up their respective rookie camps in the next couple of days before the main camp begins for each team later this week.
POLL | ||
15 SEPTEMBRE | 33 ANSWERS Scrum ensues after Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch catches Maple Leafs prospect Noah Chadwick up high Do you think Luke Tuch should've been ejected from the game for this hit? | ||
Yes | 26 | 78.8 % |
No | 7 | 21.2 % |
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