GAME DAY: Maple Leafs open season vs Canadiens

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GAME INFO

(2021 stats)

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Montreal Canadiens 24-21-11, 4th in North

at Toronto Maple Leafs, 35-14-7, 1st in North

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Scotiabank Area

TV:Sportsnet, Radio: TSN 1050

SEASON SERIES

Canadiens 0-0-0, GF: 0

Maple Leafs 0-0-0, GF: 0

When final they met

(2021 playoffs, first spherical, Montreal defeats Toronto 4 video games to three.

Let’s do this once more

The Leafs start a pivotal season precisely the place the final one went off the tracks, at residence in opposition to their outdated rival.

Toronto has a brand new lineup, albeit lacking a few gamers, whereas Montreal is in the identical circumstance as the beginning of final season, a playoff underdog, making an attempt for cohesion and needing Carey Worth to return again in sound thoughts and physique later within the schedule. Each coaches, Sheldon Keefe and Dominique Ducharme, have simply accomplished their first full coaching camps and this primary packed home at Scotiabank since March of 2020 ought to add loads of environment.

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Three issues concerning the Canadiens

1. The Habs underwent some final minute roster finagling, claiming Adam Brooks off waivers from the Leafs. That protected their depth at centre, however leaves them with a naked minimal variety of defencemen. Nobody mentioned normal supervisor Marc Bergevin was standard, however his workforce made the Cup last.

2. As in a lot of final 12 months, Jake Allen will likely be relied upon to carry the fort till Worth will get again, in mid-November on the earliest. Allen has a report of 6-5 in opposition to the Leafs, however a couple of names that contributed to the Canadiens cussed defensive play have moved on.

3. Cole Caufield was unleashed within the playoffs in opposition to Toronto and proved a handful for the Leafs’ defence. He’s nonetheless Calder Trophy eligible. Montreal’s different younger star, Nick Suzuki, enters the brand new season with an eight-year extension, agreed to Tuesday, an AAV of $7.875 million US.

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Three issues concerning the Maple Leafs

1. Auston Matthews and the membership’s medical workers are being tremendous cautious in his restoration from August wrist damage. After hopes he’d be match by opening night time, there’s sufficient doubt he’s 100 per cent and with three video games in 4 nights, he’s now been pushed again to Monday’s residence tilt in opposition to the Rangers. That’s on prime of shedding second-line winger Ilya Mikheyev for eight weeks with a damaged thumb on the weekend.

2. Goalie Jack Campbell beat himself up over a horrible Recreation 7 final Could (he was not alone) and will get first crack on the Habs. It’s additionally an opportunity to determine himself forward   of latest stablemate Petr Mrazek, who’s up Thursday in Ottawa.

3. There wasn’t a lot debate about who’d get the preliminary alternative on the primary line with Matthews and Mitch Marner instead of Zach Hyman. Huge Nick Ritchie stayed there via camp, although it’s John Tavares who replaces Matthews as that line’s centre for now.

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Recreation Evening Traces

TORONTO

LW C RW

Nick Ritchie John Tavares Mitch Marner

Michael Bunting   Alex Kerfoot William Nylander

Pierre Engvall David Kampf Ondrej Kase

Wayne Simmonds Michael Amadio Jason Spezza

Defence pairings

Jake Muzzin Justin Holl

Morgan Rielly TJ Brodie

Rasmus Sandin Travis Dermott

Goalies

Jack Campbell, Petr Mrazek

MONTREAL

LW C RW

Tyler Toffoli Nick Suzuki Cole Caufield

Jonathan Drouin Christian Dvorak Josh Anderson

Joel Armia Jake Evans   Brendan Gallagher

Artturi Lehkonen Mathieu Perreault Cedric Paquette

Defence pairings

Brett Kulak Jeff Petry

Ben Chiarot David Savard

Alexander Romanov Chris Wideman

Goalies

Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault

SPECIAL TEAMS (2021)

Energy play

Toronto 20.0 (sixteenth)

Montreal 19.2 (seventeenth)

Penalty-kill

Toronto 78.5% (T-Twenty third)

Montreal 78.5% (T-Twenty third)

lhornby@postmedia.com