Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs High-Stakes Preseason Showdown

The Canadiens and Maple Leafs square off at 7pm tonight (Thursday, Sept. 26/2024) looking to build some momentum as they head into the regular season; the first of a home at home preseason series. The game takes place at Scotiabank Arena as Craig Berube and the Maple Leafs are trying to get back on track after back to back preseason losses to the Ottawa Senators. Both team released the rosters that are going to take the ice and it seems like a big mismatch on paper:

Toronto is bringing out the big guns (minus Auston Matthews who is dealing with an injury) with a roster including Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Max Pacioretty, Nick Robertson, Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev and more. Easton Cowan gets another crack at trying to earn a spot, though it feels like this is a do or die game for him.

Montreal on the other hand is bringing out a much more youthful roster, trying to gauge which rookies and AHLers can break out and make the roster come October. Some standouts for the Canadiens include Christian Dvorak, Owen Beck, Lane Hutson, and Alex Tuch; Hutson especially could be a name that is seen in the NHL sooner than later, having poise beyond his years and elite playmaking vision already.

It is presumed Toronto will start Anthony Stolarz as he tries to get his chops in and find his footing as the premier backup to Joseph Woll. When Toronto signed Stolarz away from the Florida Panthers this offseason they had in mind a specific role for the Stanley Cup Winner: Win when we need you to, and help Woll when he needs you to. Montreal will counter with Jakub Dobes while they also have Connor Hughes looking to gain some action. The Maple Leafs have Matt Murray backing up Stolarz for tonight.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the much less experienced Canadiens team fares versus a Toronto team who is itching to show new head coach Craig Berube that those two losses are a fluke and not representative of the kind of hockey he wants them to play. Toronto is 0-1-1 in the preseason so far; having lost their first game due to a horrific defensive error.

Montreal is 2-0-0 with back to back shutouts in the preseason so far, with victories over the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils.

It will no doubt be as exciting as ever to see both team square off once again. Follow HockeyPatrol for all the latest news and updates on the game!