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The Canadiens face a tough test to start the season today with a matchup against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
Tonight sees the Maple Leafs playing their first game without Mitch Marner, who was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal during the offseason.
Send us your thoughts on the game at live@theathletic.com.
With Oliver Kapanen's goal in the first period, Montreal opened its season with a shorthanded goal for the third time on record, alongside Mark Recchi in 1995 and Gilles Tremblay in 1967.
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Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
End of P2 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
Slafkovsky has the best chance of the second period's final minute but he's stopped by Stolarz from close range.
P2 0:57 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
McMann finds Tavares near the left faceoff dot, but Montembeault makes a strong save on his ensuing shot.
At the other end of the ice, Ekman-Larsson and Slafkovský get into a scuffle following a stoppage but the ref doesn't let it escalate any further.
P2 4:00 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
The Canadiens generate several dangerous chances on the man advantage, with Hutson and Caufield forcing saves from Stolarz, but fail to cash in.
P2 6:22 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
The Habs go more than five minutes of game time without a shot on goal, but after ending the drought they soon get a power play as well as Knies is sent to the box for holding Matheson.
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P2 11:50 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
Ekman-Larsson sets Benoit up for a redirection right in front of goal, but the puck flies wide of the net. Benoit looks to the rafters in disbelief.
P2 12:35 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
A rebound comes straight to Domi on the right wing. He quickly fires the puck on net but his shot is straight at Montembeault, who makes the save.
P2 13:04 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
A great chance for the Habs to quickly retake the lead as Demidov feeds Kapanen on the rush, but Tanev gets his stick in the way to break up the play.
P2 14:20 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 2
Rielly has a free shot from the slot but Montembeault manages to make the stop. The Canadiens fail to clear the zone, however, and moments later Jarnkrok makes them pay, slamming the puck home past Xhekaj and Montembeault.
Zack Bolduc scores in his first game in a Canadiens uniform after spending the first two years of his career with the Blues.
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P2 18:30 – Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1
A bad turnover in the defensive zone by the Leafs leads to Stolarz giving up a juicy rebound on a Gallagher shot, and Bolduc is there to jam the puck home! The Habs have their first lead of the night.
P2 20:00 – Canadiens 1, Maple Leafs 1
We're back in action at Scotiabank Arena.
This is a first. We're watching baseball on the jumbotron at the Leafs game.
The Blue Jays and Yankees are currently tied 1-1 in the fourth inning of Game 4 of their series.
With his game-tying goal in the first period, Oliver Kapanen became the fifth player in Canadiens history to score his first career NHL goal while shorthanded.
The other Montreal players to do so: Chris Chelios in 1984, Doug Jarvis in 1975, Lawrence Pleau in 1970 and Jacques Laperriere in 1963.
Canadiens 1, Maple Leafs 1
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The first period saw a rough first power play for the Leafs' (slightly) new-look No. 1 unit. They gave up a shorthanded goal and failed to land a shot on goal of their own.
There's a definite adjustment period with Morgan Rielly taking the controls up top in place of a certain forward who departed in the offseason.
Canadiens ice time leader after one period: Alexandre Carrier with seven minutes, 31 seconds. Just as we all predicted.
Bobby McMann opened the scoring for Toronto just 1:00 into tonight's game, marking the Maple Leafs’ sixth-fastest goal in a season opener all-time.
The quicker goals for the Leafs in season openers: Gus Bodnar (0:15 in 1943), Stew Gavin (0:27 in 1983), Darryl Sittler (0:38 in 1975), Zdenek Nedved (0:48 in 1995) and Brian Conacher (0:58 in 1966).
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