As has been the case more often than not in recent years, the Montreal Canadiens will be kicking off their season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Center. This will be the first of four duels this season, with the other three set for November 22, December 6, and March 10.
Last season, the Habs won the opening night match-up against the Leafs thanks to a 1-0 shutout win. Samuel Montembeault was magisterial, making 48 saves in what turned out to be Montreal’s sole win over Toronto last season. Over the course of the four duels, the Leafs outscored the Canadiens 12-6.
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Martin St-Louis has already confirmed, to nobody’s surprise, that Samuel Montembeault will be the starter. The Bechancour native has played 10 games against the old enemy in his career, and he has a 3-6-0 record with a 3.89 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. Meanwhile, backup Jakub Dobes has only taken them on once, losing 1-0 in overtime and posting a .971 save percentage.
Craig Berube has yet to confirm who will be manning the Leafs’ cage, but with Joseph Woll still being away from the team, Anthony Stolarz is the clear choice. In six games against Montreal, he’s got a 4-2-0 record, with a 2.32 GAA and a .918 SV. As for their backup, newly picked up on waivers, Cayden Primeau, he has never faced the Canadiens, since he was with the organization until the last offseason.
Speaking of waivers pickup, look for Samuel Blais to go all out tonight, if he is dressed. The 29-year-old left winger had signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Canadiens in July, but when the team waived him last weekend, the Maple Leafs pounced. The Montmagny native has played 10 games against the Canadiens so far in his career, scoring two goals and putting up 19 penalty minutes. There’s no doubt he’ll be highly motivated after Montreal deemed him surplus to requirements.
Blais won’t be the only player to keep an eye on tonight, though. While Mitch Marner left Toronto this summer, most of the core four remain there, and they do have a knack for performing well against Montreal. Former captain John Tavares has 52 points in 59 career games against the Habs, while current captain Auston Matthews has 46 points in 37 games. William Nylander comes in third with 32 points in 36 games, while defenseman Morgan Rielly has 28 points in 50 games.
On the Canadiens’ side, Brendan Gallagher remains the highest point scorer against Toronto with 23, but that’s mainly because he’s played them 47 times, more than anyone else on the team. Captain Nick Suzuki is quickly catching up, though, as he’s got 22 points in 28 duels. Josh Anderson comes in third place with 17 points, including 14 goals, in 37 games. Newly acquired defenseman Noah Dobson has 13 points in just 12 games, while sniper Patrik Laine has 11 goals and 13 points in just 15 games.
This will be the first game of the post-Mitch Marner era in Toronto. This is a significant change for the franchise, and his loss won’t be easy to overcome. While the Leafs did manage to trade him before he hit the free market, getting Nicolas Roy is hardly a fair trade. Marner has 39 career points against the Habs while Roy only has three points in six duels with Montreal.
All eyes will be on ice time tonight as St-Louis has insisted of late that he’s got one clear first-line and then three good lines that shouldn’t be numbered. Whether the bench boss wants to appoint a line as his second, third, and fourth, or not, the ice time will speak for itself.
Tonight’s matchup will also be the first official one of Noah Dobson’s career with the Canadiens. Kent Hughes took a big swing, trading two first-round picks and Emil Heineman for the right-shot defenseman and giving him a $9.5 M AAV deal. Playing against the Leafs’ potent offense will be an interesting test for the pairing he forms with Mike Matheson.
As for Zack Bolduc, he’ll be playing his first game as a Hab alongside Kirby Dach and Brendan Gallagher, a combination that St-Louis hopes will contribute offensively. The youngster will also be playing on the first power play unit, filling the bumper position in front of the net while Suzuki, Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Lane Hutson complete the first wave of the man-advantage.
If the Canadiens hope to make the playoffs again this season, they’ll need to maintain their dominance against Atlantic Division rivals. Last season, they had an 18-7-1 record in intra-division games. After the duel, the Canadiens will fly to Detroit, where they’ll take on the Red Wings on Thursday night.
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