Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier made sure the Montreal Canadiens kicked off their season with a bang, each racking up a goal and an assist as they snatched a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes was solid, stopping 25 shots, while Toronto’s new netminder Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves in his debut for the Leafs.
Nylander’s Blazing Start and Montreal’s Comeback Power
It was Toronto’s William Nylander who set the scoreboard alight, needing only 48 seconds in the first period to step around Montreal captain Nick Suzuki and rip a high shot past Dobes. That wasn’t just any goal, either: it tied Zdenek Nedved’s record from 1995 for the fourth-fastest goal to start a season opener in Maple Leafs franchise history. But Montreal wasn’t about to let that stand. Anderson tied things up at 10:53, batting a rebound out of the air right in front of the net. Zachary Bolduc then grabbed the lead for the Canadiens, scoring from the slot at 4:52 of the second period. The third period saw Alexandre Carrier deliver the decisive blow, beating Bobrovsky on the glove side at 13:12. Nylander tried to spark a late comeback for Toronto, cutting the deficit to a single goal with 4:14 left in regulation, but it wasn’t enough to save their season opener.
Leafs’ New Look Can’t Stop Habs’ Momentum
This game was a big one for Toronto, marking a new chapter after an offseason of change that saw them miss the playoffs last spring for the first time in a decade. No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna and Russian winger Kirill Marchenko made their debuts, alongside seven other new teammates looking to turn things around. But the Canadiens are coming off a campaign where they took a massive step forward, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference final before ultimately falling to the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes. That momentum clearly carried over, as they looked sharp and hungry from the jump.
What’s next for these squads? The Canadiens are heading to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs will be looking to bounce back when they host the New York Islanders on Wednesday. This early season battle showed that Montreal is ready to pick up right where they left off, while Toronto still has some work to do to get their new pieces gelling.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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