@ Montréal

A seven-goal outburst against Montreal should feel like a statement, but most of us have been hurt enough to know that a Scott Laughton brace in the opening period is exactly the kind of false hope that keeps the cycle of pain spinning. When Mike Matheson dared to make things interesting, Bobby McMann responded thirty seconds later to ensure the script stayed firmly in Toronto’s favor. It was a rare display of actual defensive competence, holding the Habs to a laughable thirteen shots, though seeing Patrik Laine score in a Montreal sweater still felt like a weird fever dream during the second frame.

The Steven Lorentz show took over from there, as he potted two goals in a two-minute span to really twist the knife and make us all wonder if the depth scoring has finally arrived or if the universe is just playing a cruel prank. By the time Matt Benning and Ryan Tverberg piled on in the third, it was getting embarrassing for everyone involved. Scoring seven goals on just twenty-five shots is the kind of efficiency that usually disappears the second the calendar hits April, but for once, it was nice to see the blue and white be the ones doing the bullying in a building that usually provides nothing but trauma.

Before anyone starts booking space on Yonge Street for a parade, let’s remember this was a lopsided road win against a team that seemingly forgot how to find the net. It’s hard to get too worked up over a blowout victory when history suggests there is always a collapse lurking around the corner. Still, watching the depth guys run wild provides a brief, shimmering moment of optimism that will surely be harvested and used against us later. For now, a five-goal margin of victory is a decent way to pass the time before the real stress begins.