The Canadiens did not exactly open their season with a clean script. Toronto struck first just 48 seconds in, and Montreal spent the early part of the night chasing the game. But the Canadiens settled in, got goals from Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, and Alexandre Carrier, and escaped Toronto with a 3-2 win.
It was the kind of game that left both sides of the ledger pretty clear. Montreal had enough positives to like, but a few things jumped out for the wrong reasons.
Jakub Dobes was the biggest reason the Canadiens were able to survive the rough start. Toronto scored on its second shot, but Dobes shut things down from there in the opening period. Montreal looked disjointed early, having trouble getting the puck out of its zone and unable to hold the offensive end for long stretches, but Dobes kept the damage from getting worse until the team found its footing.
Toronto still had its chances, including Auston Matthews’ one-timer from the top of the circle, but Dobes was set for it and turned it aside with an outstretched pad. He finished with 26 saves on 28 shots and looked every bit as sharp as he did during the Canadiens’ playoff run.
Kirby Dach also gave Montreal something to build on. There had been plenty of noise around him heading into the season after his one-year extension, and questions about where things stand with him beyond this year.
He answered with a noticeable edge. His second effort on the puck helped set up Montreal’s opening goal of the season, and he played with energy and physicality throughout the night.
Dach also finished with two hits, which fit the tone he brought from the start.
The Canadiens’ fourth line was another bright spot, and it may have been their most reliable unit all night. Jake Evans, Anderson, and Bolduc brought pace, pressure, and physical play when the rest of the lineup was still trying to find its rhythm.
Anderson ended up with a goal and an assist, while Bolduc scored on opening night for the second straight season. Evans didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he won 58% of his faceoffs and did good work on the penalty kill.
If that line keeps producing like this, Montreal will have something real to lean on.
Anderson’s goal was part of a response after the early hole, while Bolduc gave the Canadiens the lead in the second period. Carrier later added the insurance marker with less than seven minutes left, before William Nylander trimmed the lead to one just over four minutes from the finish. Montreal was not at its sharpest, and the opening stretch showed it, but the team did enough to hold on.
Not everything clicked, though. Montreal’s new top trio had a quiet night.
The Canadiens moved Juraj Slafkovsky to the second line to take some of the pressure off the center spot, and the idea behind the shuffle made sense. Chris Kreider was supposed to bring physicality, net-front work, and the kind of presence that can finish off second-chance looks.
None of it really came together in this one. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki both finished minus-1, nobody on the line hit the scoresheet, and the group never really found much chemistry.
It is only one game, but the opening night result was not a strong one for that unit.
The other eye-opener came from the Marchenko situation. When reports surfaced that Kirill Marchenko wanted a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal was mentioned as a possible landing spot, and Frank Seravalli reported that the Canadiens made a borderline insane offer to acquire him.
Nothing happened in the end, and Marchenko wound up getting traded to the Maple Leafs in a blockbuster that included Matthew Knies. He arrived in Toronto late the night before the game and still managed to stand out, picking up an assist on the play that put Toronto on the board 48 seconds into the night.
If Montreal really did push hard for him, that was a quick reminder of what might have been.
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McKenna logged 15:19 in his debut, picked up one shot on goal and had a few moments that underscored how much there is still to learn at this level. William Nylander carried Torontos offense in the game, but Montreal left with the result it wanted and a chance to savor a first impression that, from a Canadiens perspective, could hardly have been scripted better. [Read more 🡒]
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For Anderson, now serving as an alternate captain, the moment fit a career in Montreal that has swung between stretches of production and stretches where the goals have come less predictably. He has spent seven seasons with the Canadiens, and while his scoring track record has varied, the opener offered a reminder that he can still provide an early spark when the team needs one. [Read more 🡒]
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For Montreal, the bigger picture is familiar: the club wants to keep adding talent, but the right deal has not materialized yet. The Canadiens also have their hands full on the contract front, with negotiations ongoing for defenseman Simon Edvinsson in Detroit and cap space questions continuing to shape the market. In that kind of environment, every possible move gets squeezed through a tighter lens, and the next step for Montreal may depend less on intent than on whether a deal can finally be structured in a way the other side accepts. [Read more 🡒]