Canadiens ride hot start to cruise past Maple Leafs, extend win streak to 3 games

For one night, the Montreal Canadiens forgot about their last-placed season and upended their bitter rivals.

Josh Anderson (two goals, one assist) and Cole Caufield (one goal, two assists) both had three-point nights and the Canadiens kicked the Toronto Maple Leafs out of town with a 5-2 win Monday night in Montreal. Rem Pitlick added a goal while Brendan Gallagher chipped in two assists giving Montreal a three-game winning streak.

Samuel Montembeault made 35 saves from 37 shots, helping the Habs win a third straight game.

The Canadiens (11-33-7) broke the ice early thanks to Anderson's presence in front of Mrazek's net. The forward pushed off his defender and tapped the puck past the Toronto netminder.

Montreal ended the first period with a bang when Caufield scored on a one-timer from Anderson. Caufield notched his fifth goal in six games during Martin St. Louis' tenure as interim head coach.

WATCH | Anderson scores twice as Habs push past Maple Leafs:

The Canadiens kept pouncing on their rivals with three goals in the second period.

Hoffman took 38 seconds to score in the second period. On the rush, Hoffman skated all the way down to the right faceoff circle and his shot deflected off Mrazek increasing Montreal's lead to three goals.

Caufield and his linemate combined once again helping Anderson score his 12th of the season.

The Habs added another late second period goal when Brendan Gallagher sent a cross-ice pass for Pitlick on a two-on-one leaving the Leafs with a five-goal mountain to climb in the third period.

The Leafs attempted to climb that mountain with two quick goals in the third. Mikhevyev deflected Morgan Rielly's shot from the point at 15:17. Then, Engvall's wrist shot beat Montembeault 45 seconds later