MTL@TOR: Game Recap

TORONTO - The Canadiens came up short in their season opener on Wednesday night, falling 5-4 in overtime at Scotiabank Arena.

Naturally, there was plenty of excitement heading into the first of 10 encounters between the Original Six rivals who'll be battling it out in the Scotia North Division this year.

The contest marked the Habs debut for several players, including forwards Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli, along with defensemen Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov.

With respect to Romanov, it also marked his NHL debut. The 21-year-old Russian blueliner was a second-round selection of the Canadiens - plucked from the crowd 38th overall - in the 2018 Draft.
Romanov was no stranger to big-league hockey, though, having played the previous two seasons in the KHL ranks with CSKA Moscow.

It didn't take goaltender Carey Price long to make the highlight-reel in the first period, denying Maple Leafs sniper Mitch Marner with a beautiful pad stop to keep things scoreless early.

Price was sporting his brand new mask on Wednesday night, and the design is nothing short of spectacular! Kudos to Calgary artist Jordon Bourgeault for his excellent work.

Nick Suzuki opened the scoring for the Canadiens with a power play snipe at the 12:49 mark of the opening frame, burying a rebound opportunity from a tough angle past Maple Leafs starter Frederik Andersen.
Jonathan Drouin and Jeff Petry collected the assists on the goal that got Montreal started on the right foot on road ice.

Here's a better look at what Suzuki was working with angle-wise on that shot... Wow!

It's important to note that Ford will be donating $250 per power play goal this year to the Canadiens Children's Foundation (up to a maximum of $11,250).
Unfortunately, William Nylander responded for Toronto just over three minutes later to level the scoreline at 1-1. The 24-year-old right-winger beat Price with a point shot through a screen that ultimately found the back of the net.
But Anderson put the Canadiens back on top with 22.6 seconds remaining in the period, capping a perfect passing play involving Drouin and Petry with a wrist shot that solved Andersen.
Anderson couldn't have asked for a better start with Montreal. It was also his first NHL game since December 14, 2019 when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury while still a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That's the way things stood after 20 minutes.
The Canadiens scored another power play goal at the 7:20 mark of the second period when Romanov made a superb pass to send Tomas Tatar in all alone on Andersen - and "Tuna" made no mistake going five-hole for his first goal of the season.

That was Romanov's first NHL point, and captain Shea Weber collected the secondary helper on the play.
Nylander cut the Canadiens' lead to 3-2 with 2:00 remaining in the middle frame, capitalizing on a power play chance with Anderson in the penalty box for boarding.
Claude Julien's squad got in more penalty trouble shortly after that when Suzuki and Weber took separate minor penalties just three seconds apart - and his troops paid the price.
John Tavares tied things up for Toronto during a 5-on-3 with 38.7 seconds left before the intermission.
That set up an interesting third period.
Anderson wasted little time putting the Canadiens back in front with a strong solo effort around Tavares that ultimately led to his second goal of the night.
The tally came just 63 seconds into the frame, and Edmundson picked up his first career point in Habs colors with the primary assist. Drouin also collected his third assist of the night.

Honorable mention to Suzuki for this sweet little dangle that nearly resulted in a goal as well.

The Maple Leafs weren't done, though. Jimmy Vesey scored the equalizer at the 10:33 mark, making the most of a bad bounce behind Price, who was completely helpless on the play.
The seven-time All-Star, however, made another huge stop late in regulation to help send the game to overtime.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly sealed the deal for Toronto in the extra frame, converting a feed from Tavares on a 2-on-1.

The Canadiens will travel to Edmonton on Thursday before playing the Oilers on Saturday night at Rogers Place.