For the 29th time in NHL history, the Maple Leafs and Canadiens square off to open their regular season schedules (7:00 p.m., Sportsnet One).
The Maple Leafs face just two playoff teams from last season this October, and one of them is tonight’s opponent, who finished with just 91 points last season (17th in the NHL, eighth in the East). Eight of the 11 games this month are also played at home. Taking full advantage with a fast start technically isn’t essential in a long 82-game season, but it is an important first step toward a successful Atlantic Division regular-season title defense.
The Leafs, second in the NHL in wins (52) and one of the stingiest teams in the league last season, are leaning on continuity on the blue line (the same six D who finished the season) and in net (Anthony Stolarz, eventually Joseph Woll) as they work through the anticipated kinks within their forward group post-Mitch Marner.
Three of Toronto’s four forward lines will include a Leaf making his debut tonight, as Matias Maccelli starts on Auston Matthews’ right wing, Dakota Joshua starts on Max Domi’s left wing, and Nic Roy centers Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok on the fourth line. Chemistry may not be instantaneous, especially given Craig Berube pivoted and changed three of his four lines later in the preseason after Scott Laughton’s injury.
As for the Habs’ outlook:
The Canadiens went 15-5-6 after the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off with a .692 points percentage that was fourth best in the NHL. Can their young core play close to that level for an 82-game season? The talent certainly is there with all four of their 20-goal scorers from last season, forwards Cole Caufield (37), Nick Suzuki (30), Brendan Gallagher (21) and Patrik Laine (20) returning, plus a full season of promising rookie forward Ivan Demidov. The defense got deeper and more skilled with Noah Dobson, acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on June 27, joining Lane Hutson, the reigning Calder Trophy winner voted as NHL rookie of the year, Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier. The always-high expectations in Montreal have been raised coming off a strong late run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Can the players handle it?
– Adam Kimelman, NHL.com
The Leafs have won eight of their last nine against the Canadiens dating back to February of 2023, with the only loss in this stretch coming in the season opener last October in Montreal, where the Leafs largely outplayed the Habs, couldn’t score, and lost to a late goal (1-0). The Leafs won the next three against Montreal to finish 3-1-0 in the season series while out-scoring the Habs 4-1 at five-on-five and out-shooting them 99-78.
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on his team’s mindset ahead of the new season:
Team. There has been a lot of talk about that here amongst the guys. They’re a tight group right now. That excites me. They truly believe that they need everybody to be successful and that everybody is important on the team. That is a good sign for me.
We are all excited to get going. Camp gets long, and guys want to play the real games. No better way to start than playing the Montreal Canadiens.
Max Domi on the importance of a tight-knit team mentality:
For the teams that win, you always look at them at the end of the year, and it seems like they are a really, really tight-knit group. Everyone talks about how they’re a real tight-knit group in here, but to do it, it takes a full year to build it.
It starts with putting the right foot forward. You have to care more about the guy to your left, right, and across from you than you do yourself. When you get that selfless mentality, I think you have something special.
That is what we are focused on: a pack-like mentality from game one.
It is a great test, a great rivalry, and a great team over there. Looking forward to it.
Steven Lorentz on the “team-first” mentality:
It is the most important thing. There is a lot of noise playing in a big market. There are a lot of opinions. If you choose to listen to that, it can kind of creep in. We are not going to let that happen.
Chief and Tre both did a good job of saying, “What matters is in this room. It is the guys in the room who go to war with you night in and night out. It is nobody else’s opinion. None of that stuff matters.”
That is what we are prepared to do and have been preparing to do, even going back to last season. We took steps in the right direction, but ultimately, we didn’t get to where we wanted to be, which was hoisting a Stanley Cup.
If we do a good job of gelling as a group and having each other’s backs on the ice, we will put ourselves in a good position to be successful.
Brandon Carlo on the opportunity to play in the city of Toronto:
I love being in a market where there is so much passion. You don’t want to be in a different place to win. I really appreciate the passion. It is ingrained in everyone’s blood here. I see bumper stickers all the time. I see kids with jerseys in school. I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Berube on the challenge presented by the Habs:
It is a good asset, getting Noah Dobson. He has been a good defenseman in this league. He has a good shot and is a good offensive player.
They’re a team that is coming. They did a great job last year and got into the playoffs. They have some good skill over there; you can go through the lines and lineup, but they have good skill. It is going to be a challenge.
Berube on the expectations for Matias Maccelli on Auston Matthews’ line:
He had some good practice time with that line. I have liked what I have seen in practice.
He is a good playmaker who can pass the puck. That suits the line and how they play. We’ll see how it goes; I can’t predict the future.
He doesn’t need to complicate the game or think he always has to pass or make a play. He just needs to play the game. He owns a good shot. He has shown us that he can fire a puck; he needs to shoot it and play the game. He doesn’t have to overanalyze it or overpass. He just has to go and play.
He has to be responsible defensively. He has to work. He has to compete. All of those things will determine if he can stick there and make it work or not.
2024-25 Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs (51-26-4) vs. Canadiens (40-31-11)
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Toronto held the advantage in four out of five offensive categories and four out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #63 Matias Maccelli
#74 Bobby McMann – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#81 Dakota Joshua – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nick Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz – #55 Nicolas Roy – #19 Calle Jarnkrok
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe – #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly – #25 Brandon Carlo
#2 Simon Benoit – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Goaltenders
Starter: #41 Anthony Stolarz
#30 Cayden Primeau
Extras: Philippe Myers, Sammy Blais, Easton Cowan
Injured: Scott Laughton (week-to-week, LBI)
Out: Joseph Woll (personal)
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
#13 Cole Caufield – #14 Nick Suzuki – #20 Juraj Slafkovsky
#15 Alex Newhook – #91 Oliver Kapanen – #93 Ivan Demidov
#76 Zack Bolduc – #77 Kirby Dach – #11 Brendan Gallagher
#17 Josh Anderson – #71 Jake Evans – #92 Patrik Laine
Defensemen
#8 Mike Matheson – #53 Noah Dobson
#21 Kaiden Guhle – #48 Lane Hutson
#72 Arber Xhekaj – #45 Alexandre Carrier
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Samuel Montembeault
#75 Jakub Dobes
