Previewing the Montreal Canadiens Season Opener

Last year, the two teams opened up their seasons against one another, where Habs goaltender Samuel Montembeault made 48 saves in a 1-0 shutout, and Cole Caufield scored the game’s only goal. Luckily for Montembeault, the team in front of him has gotten much better since then and he won’t need to stand on his head as much to secure a win. Montembeault will, in fact, get the start for the Canadiens as expected tonight.

Aside from that win on opening night last season, the Canadiens proceeded to lose the remaining 3 games against the Maple Leafs, so tonight’s game will be a tough test as the real games are officially here.

However, a new season brings a fresh start for the Canadiens, who will be looking to spoil the Maple Leafs’ home opener.

The Canadiens’ lines for tonight will be very similar to the preseason, with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky forming the top line. They will be followed by Zachary Bolduc (probable), Kirby Dach and Brendan Gallagher as the 2nd line. Bolduc is still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, so if he can’t go Joe Veleno will slot in his spot.

Meanwhile, rookies Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen will form the 3rd line alongside Alex Newhook. As for the 4th line, we will see Patrik Laine playing with Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. The reality is, aside from the top unit, the Habs have chosen to go very balanced across their forward lines. We will see how this strategy works tonight, but it wouldn’t be surprising if these lines get switched up in the next couple of days.

On defense, Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson, who played a bit together during the World Championships last Spring for Canada, will form the top pairing tonight. While Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle will once again form a duo. After a solid performance in the preseason together, Arber Xhekaj and Alexandre Carrier will form the 3rd pairing in tonight’s game.

The Habs reportedly didn’t hold a morning skate ahead of tonight’s matchup, so these lines are based on what was seen on Tuesday and discussed by Martin St. Louis during a media scrum. 

For those who like betting on hockey games, it should be noted that the Over/Under for tonight’s game is set at 5.5 goals. 3 of the 4 regular-season games saw the two teams combine for under 5.5 goals last season. The Canadiens are also listed as +145 money line underdogs in tonight’s matchup across almost all Sportsbooks.

Tonight’s game should be a good, hard-fought matchup as always between both teams, but even more so since they are looking to prove something by starting the year on the right foot with a win. For the Habs, it’s about showing that they can compete out of the gate similarly to the way they ended their season, and for the Leafs, it’s about proving that their top line can look good without Mitch Marner.

What are your predictions for tonight’s game?