About Last Night: Montembeault shuts out Leafs in opener

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Samuel Montembeault made 48 saves to give the Montreal Canadiens a 1-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in their season opener on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.

It was Monty’s second career shutout and his first since the 2021-22 season.

The home team was outshot by their divisional rivals 18-14 in the first period, and the gap in shots only widened as the night progressed.

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Cole Caufield scored the lone goal on a one-timer in the opening period on Montreal’s second power play of the season. They entered the campaign having gone 0-30 with the man advantage in the preseason. Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach picked up assists.

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New Leafs captain Auston Matthews had five shots on the night, including one that had Montembeault sliding across for the acrobatic glove save.

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David Savard and former Hab Max Domi exchanged pleasantries throughout the night, but the Habs defenceman got the last laugh with a booming hit on the Leafs forward.

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It was not a great night for either power play. Montreal went 1-5 with the man advantage, including an unsuccessful five-on-three where they only managed one shot. Meanwhile, Toronto went 0-4. Their best chance might’ve come at the end of the penalty kill when offseason acquisition Oliver Ekman-Larsson got sprung on a breakaway coming out of the box. Montembeault shut the door.

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After a tense final two minutes where Jake Evans won a big faceoff, Montembeault’s shutout and Montreal’s opening win were both secured in nail-biting fashion. Despite being a low-scoring contest, it was an entertaining back-and-forth affair with midseason-calibre goaltending performances from Montembeault and Anthony Stolarz.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same: Mike Matheson played nearly half the game at 26:35. Rookie Lane Hutson was fourth among Habs blueliners at 18:22 and showed some of the dazzling puckhandling skills that made him such a highly regarded prospect coming out of Boston University.

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According to Hockey Stat Cards’ impact card for the night, vets David Savard and Christian Dvorak were the strongest contributors in Game 1. Dvorak especially had a little extra zip in his stride, indicating that he might finally be healthy after a couple of injury-marred seasons.

Montreal’s first line saw a lot of Toronto’s first line, including a messy third period opening shift where they got hemmed in their zone for two minutes.

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A special thanks to all the Liveblog regulars who found their way back after the long summer. Even with offseason addition Patrik Laine on the shelf for 2-3 months, enthusiasm for the up-and-coming Habs has not waned, although they remain cautious about overhyping the inexperienced club.

It wasn’t the kind of win that will leave a fanbase brimming with confidence, but after blowing a lead to the Leafs last opener, a razor-thin win could be considered an improvement.

Here’s what the commenters were saying after the opening night win.

3. “Great game by Dvorak, Evans, B-B, Anderson and a few others — and of course Monty. Great start, bring on the Bruins!!” — Greg Groen

2. “A win against the Leafs is always nice, especially on opening night. We still have a lot of work to do though!” — Bob Taylor

1. “I’m happy to win. Sorry to rain on your parade … but this win gives me zero confidence. We were fortunate. Our first line was brutal. We were totally outplayed. Monty pulled a Ken Dryden. Terrible PP. Although our PK was tremendous.” — Marc Taillefer

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