There is at least a sense the fortunes of the Montreal Canadiens are changing for the better, not just after they beat the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Saturday night, but because of how they won. Dominating the Leafs over large portions of the contest, the Habs got two goals out of both Noah Dobson and Josh Anderson to give the hosts their first win in six tries.
Game Recap
Furthermore, whereas the Canadiens have been no stranger to injuries recently, Jake Evans played in this contest despite concerns he’d be out as well after having taken a high, late hit the last game. With forward Florian Xhekaj having been recalled from the Laval Rocket yesterday, some may have feared a worst-case scenario, but just about the best possible one panned out instead, with (the younger) Xhekaj, defenseman Arber’s brother, drawing in for Joshua Roy instead… and coming up a goal short of a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Erratum : Les Canadiens ont rappelé l’attaquant Florian Xhekaj du Rocket de Laval. Joshua Roy demeure avec les Canadiens.
Erratum: The Canadiens have recalled Florian Xhekaj from the Laval Rocket. Joshua Roy remains with the Canadiens. pic.twitter.com/TaieDtFBif
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 21, 2025
Xhekaj assisted on Anderson’s first goal of the contest midway through the second period, a high shot that fooled Maple Leafs starter Joseph Woll and chased him from the game, with the score 4-0. It was by all appearances a nail in the coffin for the Leafs, despite a half-game remaining. However, ironically an extra penalty handed to Xhekaj late in the contest after a fight with Dakota Mermis, for slashing Woll’s replacement, Dennis Hildeby, indirectly gave the Leafs life.
William Nylander found the back of the net soon thereafter, with Hildeby pulled for the extra attacker, to make the score 4-2 with five minutes left, likely causing some anxiety in the Bell Centre considering how the team has fared recently. However, Anderson scored his second into an empty net with just over two minutes left to seal the 5-2 victory, with goalie Jakub Dobes getting the win.
Related: Projected Lineups for Maple Leafs vs Canadiens – 11/22/25
Defenseman Lane Hutson opened the scoring midway through the first off a cross-ice pass from Nick Suzuki. Dobson scored the first of his two a minute later off an off-speed slapper. He added to his personal total in the second, following a tic-tac-toe play, on which he one-timed a one-touch pass from Ivan Demidov home to make the score 3-0. After Anderson had scored his first of the contest, Oliver Ekman-Larsson countered for the Maple Leafs, who, like the Canadiens have suffered through their fair share of struggles recently, having now gone 1-5-2 over their last eight.
Perhaps the Canadiens just needed to run into a team that was worse off than them to snap out of their funk. Or maybe the win, over a similarly struggling opponent, represents a brief respite. Habs fans will get a better idea when the 11-7-3 Habs next play, when they head out on the road to face the Utah Mammoth, against whom they coincidentally earned their last win, next Wednesday. The 9-10-3 Leafs next visit the Columbus Blue Jackets, against whom they just lost in overtime a few nights ago, also on Wednesday.
