Habs Fall Short In Season Opener

The Habs started the game off slow, being dominated by the more experienced Leafs team, which resulted in a goal against when John Tavares won a faceoff back to William Nylander, who shot the puck towards the net, which got deflected a few times before it hit Bobby McMann’s stick and went in the net. It wasn’t a great night for Samuel Montembeault but there wasn’t much he could do on that first goal.

It seemed like that goal woke the Habs up as they immediately started to make a push. The Canadiens would actually tie the game while playing shorthanded. Rookie forward Oliver Kapanen intercepted a bad pass by William Nylander and zoomed down the right side and beat the Leafs’ goaltender Anthony Stolarz short side with a wicked wrister. This was Kapanen’s first NHL goal, and it will be remembered by many players and fans who saw it on Wednesday night. 

Kapanen and Newhook were amazing in their first real test of playing on the penalty kill, using their sticks to cut off passes and their speed to create shorthanded chances on numerous occasions. In fact, this duo on the penalty kill was likely the brightest spot of the Habs game as a whole. Hopefully, their success as a dangerous penalty kill duo lasts more than just one game. 

In terms of goal scorers for the Habs on Wednesday night, it really was a game of firsts, as Zack Bolduc scored his first goal as a Hab early in the 2nd period, after jumping on a Brendan Gallagher rebound to beat the goalie in front of the net. While Bolduc had a very quiet preseason, he came out during the season opener and made his presence felt often on the forecheck. It will take time for him to get used to the Habs’ systems, but it was a good first game with the Canadiens nonetheless.

The top line of Juraj Slafkovsky-Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield had their chances to extend the lead off a dominant shift where they held the Leafs’ top line hostage in their zone for a good minute, but they couldn’t capitalize on their chances on Wednesday. Slafkovsky was probably the best player on the line as he recorded a game-high 6 shots on goal, with many coming in prime scoring areas. This is a good sign considering his habit of starting regular seasons slowly. Hopefully, he can continue to be a big presence over the next few games to show that he really is having a good start to the season. 

Since they weren’t able to capitalize, it wasn’t long before the Leafs tied the game on a weird shot by Calle Jarnkrok that beat Samuel Montembeault. Even after the Leafs tied it, the Habs’ top line put a lot of pressure before the end of the 2nd period, but yet again couldn’t capitalize.

The Habs’ top line likely outplayed the Leafs’ top line for the most part, but the play on the game-winner was just a mix of terrible decisions and horrible bounces that caused Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly to score the goal that kept the Leafs ahead for good. 

The play started in the offensive zone with Lane Hutson narrowly missing the net. The puck came around the net to Mike Matheson, who attempted to shoot it towards the net, but his stick broke on the play. This led to Leafs forward Matias Maccelli grabbing the puck and finding Matthew Knies for a breakaway, but Lane Hutson attempts to chase Knies down by getting rid of his stick. Hutson manages to take down Knies before he has a chance to score, but without his stick he wasn’t able to stop Knies from passing it over to a streaking Rielly, who cleanly beat Montembeault’s top corner. As a whole, the play ended up being a nightmare in what was a very tough night for Hutson. 

Rielly’s goal seemed to break the Habs’ spirit as they weren’t able to do anything that challenged Stolarz the rest of the way, and both Auston Matthews and William Nylander finished the game off by getting empty net goals.

The Habs’ loss means that they now have an 11-game losing streak at the Scotiabank Arena. While it was a tough loss for the Habs, they will need to bounce back quickly as they play again on Thursday night in Detroit, against the Red Wings at 7 pm ET. The Habs should be hungry to redeem themselves, and will have the chance to show how they bounce back from a loss just 24 hours before. The Red Wings may not be as tough an opponent as the Maple Leafs, but they will be tested nonetheless on Thursday.