Canadiens Lineup

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Jonathan Drouin – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson

Tyler Toffoli – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia

Paul Byron – Jake Evans – Artturi Lehkonen

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Alexander Romanov

Carey Price – Jake Allen

Victor Mete

Ryan Poehling, Michael Frolik, Corey Perry, Cale Fleury Charlie Lindgren

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Game Report

What a start! The Maple Leafs and Habs looked like they were shot out of a cannon as both teams began the shortened 56-game campaign at a frantic pace. Five minutes and 10 seconds of non-stop action was momentarily paused by an icing call.

To no one’s surprise Carey Price made two huge saves on Mitch Marner and Zach Bogosian before the game was five minutes old, reminding everyone of his superb play during the playoffs. 

And with that, the highly anticipated Canadiens 2020-’21 season was underway. If game one is any indication, Montreal will be playing an entertaining brand of hockey for their fans. The Canadiens were quick, physical and balanced.

A balanced lineup is key in playing a compressed schedule solely against divisional opponents. With scoring throughout the lineup, Claude Julien was able to play his top-9 forwards 12-15 minutes each at even strength.

First Impressions

Nick Suzuki picked up where he left off in the summer scoring the Canadiens first goal of the new season. Josh Anderson made a great first impression scoring twice to double his goal total of the 2019-20 season.

On the backend, Ben Chiarot, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Alexander Romanov each played more than 20 minutes. Yes Romanov, playing in his first NHL game was on the ice as often as ‘The Big Three.’ And the rookie took full advantage springing Tomas Tatar for a breakaway goal with Romanov picking up his first career NHL point.

Of course, with a shortened training camp and no exhibition games, Montreal is not yet running on all cylinders. Joel Edmundson continues to struggle with the Canadiens defensive system, something that was apparent in the two intrasquad games. It was a disappointing start for forwards Paul Byron, Phillip Danault and Jake Evans.

A lack of discipline, penalty-killing and some early season mistakes led to the Canadiens loss in Toronto. But they picked up one point in their first game. While the Canadiens played well, exhibiting the benefits of added depth, they were also reminded the damage that a lineup with elite talent can do quickly.

The Canadiens have a travel day on Thursday heading to Edmonton for two games with the Oilers on Saturday and Monday.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Nick Suzuki, Alexander Romanov, Josh Anderson, Shea Weber, Jonathan Drouin

▼  Joel Edmundson, Paul Byron, Jake Evans, Phillip Danault, Jeff Petry

Game Preview

If you missed the game preview, you can find it here:

Maple Leafs – Canadiens: Habs Season Opener | GAME PREVIEW