Canadiens’ Ryan Poehling scores hat trick and shootout winner in NHL debut

Ryan Poehling notched a hat trick and then added the shootout winner in his NHL debut as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in the season finale for both teams on Saturday.

Jordan Weal and Andrew Shaw also scored for the Canadiens (44-30-8), who were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night.

Goalie Charlie Lindgren, in his first game of the season, stopped 44-of-49 shots. Lindgren filled in for Carey Price, who had started the previous 13 games.

Price ended the season with a 35-24-6 record and a .918 save percentage.

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Zach Hyman, Jake Gardiner, Trevor Moore, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen scored for the Maple Leafs (46-28-8), who will face the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. Frederik Andersen also stopped 44-of-49 shots.

Poehling scored the shootout winner on Montreal’s fourth shot after John Tavares failed to win it for Toronto. The American-born Poehling, Montreal’s first pick (25th overall) in the 2017 draft, recently completed his third NCAA season at St. Cloud State.