The opening night game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs was an emotional rollercoaster for fans and the players.

GAME RECAP | Toronto Maple Leafs vs Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards
22 Cole Caufield 14 Nick Suzuki 17 Josh Anderson
15 Alex Newhook 77 Kirby Dach 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson 91 Sean Monahan 11 Brendan Gallagher
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard 71 Jake Evans 56 Jesse Ylonen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson 58 David Savard
59 Kaiden Guhle 52 Johnathan Kovacevic 
72 Arber Xhekaj 54 Jordan Harris

Goaltenders

Starter: 34 Jake Allen
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Michael Pezzetta, Justin Barron, Cayden Primeau

Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body)

Game Report

On their opening game of the new season, the Canadiens went toe-to-toe with the favorites to be the top team in the Atlantic division and lost in a shootout. There were many brilliant plays and several ghastly mistakes. In the end, it was a very entertaining contest between two rivals who will likely find themselves at the opposite end of the standings in April.

While Josh Anderson proved one more time why he doesn't belong on the top line, there were two other trios that were turning heads. 

Kirby Dach was a force at both ends of the ice picking up two assists in more than 21 minutes of play. His linemate Alex Newhook had memorable debut for the Canadiens scoring twice. While still a work in progress, Juraj Slafkovsky made a couple of nice plays including a pretty pass on Newhook's first goal.

Montreal's fourth line not only provided energy shifts but contributed to the offense. Just three minutes into the game, Jake Evans stole the puck from T.J. Brodie and scored on a breakaway. His linemate Jesse Ylonen displayed his great hands with a third period goal.

Sean Monahan wasn't helped 5-on-5 by his linemates Tanner Pearson and Brendan Gallagher. But Monahan played a special teams role with four minutes on the power play and just over a minute on the penalty kill.

After Ryan Reaves dished out big hits on Ylonen and Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj sent a message. Xhekaj manhandled Reaves earning himself an instigator penalty, a five minute major and a 10 minute misconduct. Xhekaj also contributed to the offense, assisting on Newhook's second goal.

And speaking of defensemen, Guhle led the way displaying that he is more effective away from David Savard. The 21-year-old appears to be well-matched with Johnathan Kovacevic.

The numbers don't flatter Jake Allen but he made several key stops in the game. Allen made a great save on William Nylander in the second period and robbed Auston Matthews in the third. The Canadiens goaltender was brilliant in overtime making multiple difficult saves.

While Cole Caufield scored a power play goal early in the third period, a 4-on-3 advantage in overtime was anemic. A would-be power play goal in the second period was called back for offside after review.

Game Statistics

Canadiens (0-0-1)
Shots: 24
Face-off %: 51.9
Power play: 1/4
Penalty minutes: 25
Hits: 37
Blocks: 15

Maple Leafs (1-0-0)
Shots: 42
Face-off %: 48.1
Power play: 2/4
Penalty minutes: 15
Hits: 27
Blocks: 13

Scoring Summary

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Evans (1)
2nd period: Newhook (1)
3rd period: Caufield (1), Newhook (2), Ylonen (1)
OT: No scoring
SO: No scoring

Maple Leafs Scorers
1st period: No scoring
2nd period: Gregor (1), Matthews (1)-PPG, Nylander (1)-PPG
3rd period: Matthews (2), Matthews (3)
OT: No scoring
SO: Game deciding goal by Marner.

Goaltenders
MTL: Allen (OTL)
TOR: Samsonov (W)

Canadiens Players of the Game

Kirby Dach - Two assists only begins to tell the tale of Dach's game. If he plays all season like he did against the Leafs, he will legitimately push Nick Suzuki for the top centre role.

Alex Newhook - His debut couldn't have gone any better for the 22-year-old with a two-goal night. Newhook and Dach seem well matched with both players using their speed and grit against the Leafs.

Jake Evans - After a quiet preseason, Evans demonstrated his value to the Canadiens scoring a goal, killing penalties and recording a 57.1 percent success rate at the faceoff dot.

Video Highlights

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjFH7AaOqPk[/embed]

Post-game Quotes

Kirby Dach

"There are emotional swings in the game. You have to learn how to find ways to keep on moving forward. Don’t take your foot off the gas pedal."

Game Preview

Canadiens Open the Season Against the Leafs | PREVIEW: MTL @ TOR

Up Next

The Montreal Canadiens return home to prepare for their home opener on Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The Habs will host Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.

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