Thrilling Season Opener Between Maple Leafs and Canadiens Sets the Tone for 2025-26
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
A fast-paced and back and forth game kicked off the NHL season for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens, so let's see some key takeaways.
Wednesday night was the start of the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2025 regular season, and it was an up and down affair to say the least but the team was able to come away with the 5-2 win.
Starting off the game with a goal one minute into the game from Bobby McMann, things looked to start hot for the blue and white.
Montreal came scratching back though with an Oliver Kapanen marker and things went back and forth through two periods, with both teams trading goals thanks to Zac Bolduc and Calle Jarnkrok.
The third period had a bit more zip than the first two, and the Maple Leafs were able to finally snatch the lead after Matthew Knies' breakaway chance and follow-up led to a Morgan Rielly go-ahead goal:
The Maple Leafs sealed the deal with an Auston Matthews and William Nylander pair of empty-netters.
Montreal outshot Toronto 30-28.
Toronto's Quiet Top Line Still Getting Their Footing Under Them
Through the first two periods, the top line of Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Matias Maccelli only had one shot. That isn't indicative of the hot start they need with Mitch Marner's departure, and it looked rough at times.
Matthews himself has averaged 7 shots on net over his last six season opener and for him to be so quiet is certainly strange. He did have three blocks and avoided injury (more on that below).
Thankfully he scored on an empty-net goal, and while many may see it as merely a consolation, a goal is a goal and hopefully this gives him much needed confidence going into Saturday's game.
Anthony Stolarz Solid As Always For Maple Leafs
What else is there to say? At this point you could probably bet your life savings that Anthony Stolarz is going to have a quality start.
Though he gave up x goals, you can't really fault him, especially after some below standard Maple Leafs defense:
But after that he was as solid as can be, and came up clutch several times when Montreal was pressing, and was as calm and cool as ever:
He stopped 28 of 30 shots, and put in a very good game, a fantastic sign for the Maple Leafs as they will depend on him heavily while Joseph Woll is out.
Maple Leafs Avoid Scary Auston Matthews Situation
With Scott Laughton already out, and the team already dealing with several injuries and being banged up and things could have gotten much worse:
Captain Auston Matthews blocked a shot that ended up catching him in an unprotected area and skated gingerly to the bench where he was seen grimacing in pain.
It already harkened back to last season where Toronto dealt with an injury to Matthews that kept him out for 15 games last season. Thankfully he was seen on the ice for a power play shortly after.
However, while the team got off scot-free with Matthews, it shows the importance of making sure they have that extra top-six force.
Last year, it was Mitch Marner who carried them through things, and now that falls on guys who can do it but have never held that responsibility (minus John Tavares).
Final Thoughts
Toronto had a good game, they came away with the victory and there was a lot to like about some of their lineup.
However the quiet performance from Matthews (minus the empty net goal), plus an unusually shaky defense led to Anthony Stolarz putting in a lot more work than he probably should have but two empty net goals made the scoreline seem better than the overall game was.
But a win is a win nonetheless, and Toronto was able to start off on the right foot for 2025.
What's Next For the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Toronto (1-0-0) plays their next game on Saturday, Oct. 11 as they take on the Detroit Red Wings (0-0-0) at home; the game is scheduled for a 7PM ET start time.
Montreal (0-1-0) is scheduled to travel to Detroit for a back-to-back to start the year, as they play on Thursday, Oct 9; game-time is also 7PM ET.
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