John Tavares, William Nylander score in Maple Leafs’ 4-2 loss to Canadiens

The Toronto Maple Leafs split their preseason series with the Montreal Canadiens, falling 4-1 on home ice after defeating them 7-2 on Thursday.

Similar to the series between the Maple Leafs and Senators before this one, it was a tale of the B-teams, who came out victorious in both occasions. The Leafs dressed most of their top players with the exception of Auston Matthews, while the Canadiens sat many of their top players after playing them on Thursday. In both games, the team composed of mostly bottom-six players and AHLers came out on top.

John Tavares provided the lone goal for the Leafs after the Canadiens got out to a 2-0 lead, a power play marker towards the end of the second period, but other than that, it was a pretty quiet night for the Maple Leafs. Just like I said after the Senators win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, the inferior team on paper typically performs better in preseason, so this isn’t anything surprising. Most of the established players are more focused on just getting a feel for their legs again, while the players vying for a roster spot are giving things an extra push to impress their head coach.

It was Anthony Stolarz’s first game of the preseason, allowing three goals on 18 shots before prospect Artur Akhtyamov took over. With a save percentage of .833, it was a less than ideal debut for the Maple Leafs’ star netminder but nothing unexpected for preseason hockey. With Joseph Woll still on a leave of absence and three back-to-backs in October, Stolarz will be relied on heavily to start the season similar to the way he was last season, and with the recent PTO extended to former longtime Leaf James Reimer, it looks like the Leafs would rather fill those backup starts with a veteran presence.

More cuts should come ahead of the Maple Leafs’ final two preseason games, which will feature a mini-series with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday and Saturday next week.