MONTREAL—It was a game that dared us to dream.

What if the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens finally locked horns in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1979?

The thought ruminated Saturday morning, with the Leafs edging closer to the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference and the Canadiens clinging to first place in the NHL.

By night, this installment of hockey’s oldest rivalry brought it all to life and took us back to times when the animosity between both teams was something more than superficial—as it has been since Toronto last won a game at the Bell Centre on Oct. 1, 2014.

“It was one of the most intense games of the year,” said Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov, who bucked a virus that kept him from Montreal’s last two games to factor into both goals in his team’s 2-1 win over the Leafs. “What’s not to love? It’s Montreal and Toronto; one of the best rivalries in the league.”

It’s been a trivial one in recent memory, with the Leafs being so far out of playoff contention since their last appearance in 2013.

But this Toronto team, which was supposed to be suffering a lot more pain at this stage of their rebuild, has a different air about it this season. The skill on all four of its lines keeps them in just about every game they play. The commitment of its players lends to the idea that they believe in themselves.

As defenceman Morgan Reilly said in the lead up to Saturday’s matchup with Montreal, his team is approaching practices this season as if preparing for playoff games.

Veteran Tomas Plekanec, who has been a steady presence on Montreal’s side of the rivalry since 2005, said he sees something different in this Toronto group.

“They have a better team,” said Plekanec. “They had some tough times and now they have a lineup that’s going to be scary a few years from now. Even now they’re full of skill with lots of dangerous offensive players, and once they get experience they’ll be a really, really good team.”

Games like the one the Leafs played against Montreal Saturday, which brought fans out of their seats and made for a phenomenal atmosphere, are going to fast track the team’s development.

Toronto may have surrendered a two-goal lead to the Canadiens but they never gave in at any point, generating 67 shot attempts to Montreal’s 51.

A beautiful passing play with the man advantage, started by Auston Matthews and finished by William Nylander, got them to within a goal roughly 11 minutes before a hotly-contested third period ended without a tying marker.

They are two players at the forefront of a youth movement that features a super talent in forward Mitch Marner and a rookie defenceman in Nikita Zaitsev, who Radulov referred to as one of Russia’s best.

On Saturday, all four players got involved but none played as catalysts to the edginess that emerged as the game wore on.

With just over six minutes left in the second period, Canadiens defenceman Nathan Beaulieu plowed into Nazem Kadri in front of Toronto’s net. The feisty Leafs forward retaliated with a bone-crunching hit on Beaulieu by the boards before Radulov came barreling in with one of his own.

As the play shifted down ice, Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber threw all of his weight into a hit on Nylander and staggered the young Swede.

“It was intense,” said Weber. “You can tell how much it means to both sides.”

It got more intense in the third period when Matt Martin took a boarding penalty on Beaulieu, who jumped back up to his skates and started swinging at Martin.

The game finished with a mad flurry of action in front of Carey Price’s net before Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk was thrown head-first into the boards by Alexei Emelin as the buzzer sounded.

A scuffle broke out before cooler heads prevailed, but this was the type of game that breathed life into a rivalry that so desperately needed it.

“It would be fun to play them in the playoffs,” said Plekanec. “Obviously Toronto and Boston are the huge [rivalries] in our history.”

Amen.

There’s a generation of fans on both sides of this rivalry that has never seen it play out on hockey’s biggest stage.

Maybe this year’s the year.

The Canadiens can play .500 hockey from here to the end of the season and still get to 93 points, which would probably be enough for them to qualify for the post-season.

And there’s a ground swell of support for the idea that this Leafs team, which is only likely to improve over the next few seasons, might have what it takes to squeak their way in.

Just imagine them meeting up in mid-April.