CANADIENS
Montreal

MAPLE LEAFS
Toronto

Andrighetto – Plekanec – Gallagher
De La Rose – Mitchell – Kassian
Carr – Dumont – Smith-Pelly
Bozon – McCarron – Thomas

Emelin – Petry
Tinordi – Pateryn
Barberio – Dietz

Price
Fucale

Game Report

Canadiens hockey was back at the Bell Centre. For Habs fans, a powerful thirst was quenched. Perhaps not quenched, given the result, but refreshing at the very least.

There were changes in the off-season, not as many as fans may have hoped for, but changes none-the-less. And there was the anticipation of the addition of a young gun or two. Fans won’t be able to see the full impact of the changes until opening night but on Tuesday night they received their first preview.

Carey Price picked up where he left off drawing cheers from the Bell Centre faithful. Price was flawless turning away each of the 11 shots sent his way playing, as scheduled, the first half of the game.

Alexei Emelin set off the #EmelinBOOM hashtag on Twitter leveling Leafs’ winger Josh Leivo with a jarring open-ice hit. Emelin played just over 20 minutes finishing the game with three hits. Greg Pateryn had a solid game with five hits and one blocked shot.

Up front, Michael McCarron was a stand out scoring the Canadiens lone goal, delivering five hits and going 50 per cent in the faceoff circle.  McCarron put himself in good position to score, sliding down to the slot and putting a quick shot past the glove Antoine Bibeau.

Other than that there wasn’t a lot for Canadiens fans to get excited about. With a lineup featuring more NHL talent than the one iced by the Leafs, Montreal might have been expected to generate a few more scoring chances. But, as was the case last season, it just didn’t happen. The Habs power-play looked very similar to the 2014-15 version preferring to keep the puck to the perimeter during their two opportunities.

This game featured sloppy play that will undoubtedly be cleaned up before October 7th. Jeff Petry‘s gaffe in the second period that led to the tying goal looked like a preseason mistake. But the murmurs have already started among the Habs faithful about the lack of offense.

For the coaching staff, their notes would include a tripping penalty by Devante Smith-Pelly on Travis Dermott with just 37 seconds left in the third period. The Leafs scored the game-winner on the resulting power-play just 16 seconds into overtime. Smith-Pelly is likely on the bubble right now as the Canadiens 13th or 14th forward.

The Canadiens play two more times at the Bell Centre on Thursday (Capitals) and Friday (Blackhawks) before meeting the Maple Leafs again on Saturday night at the ACC.  Practice is scheduled for 11 am on Wednesday at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

▲     Carey Price, Michael McCarron, Alexei Emelin, Sven Andrighetto, Greg Pateryn, Daniel Carr, Zack Kassian

▼     Devante Smith-Pelly, Tim Bozon

1.  Michael McCarron  MTL
2.  William Nylander  TOR
3.  Jake Gardiner  TOR

• “I really liked what I saw from (Michael) McCarron. He and his linemates were really involved in the game. They were strong on the forecheck and they were rewarded with a nice goal. It’s McCarron’s first professional year and I thought he played a solid game.””

Michael McCarron

• “Today I was actually more nervous than I thought. I couldn’t sleep before the game. I wasn’t expecting that. This morning, people were asking if I was nervous and I said ‘no.’ I don’t know what happened to me. I came to the game pretty nervous, but I got it out of the way in warmups and I thought I played well.”
• “As a line, I thought we played well tonight. We were throwing our weight around and it seemed like their defensemen were looking over their shoulders every time we were out there, so it was good. (Daniel) Carr and I played together at the rookie tournament and I’ve been playing with him all of camp now, so I feel like we’ve found a bit of chemistry.”

Brendan Gallagher

• “Big Mac (Michael McCarron) scored a nice goal, but even after the goal he continued to get better and better. He played the way he has to play in order to be successful. He used his size, he was physical and he got to the net. You talk about that battle and compete level you can’t play without and he certainly has it.”“

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock

• “It’s not an NHL game, but our guys hung in there and we found a way to win in Montreal.”
• “I thought it was an average hockey game. We looked like a team out of gas. It will be great to have a day off.”
• “We have to see how we can narrow (the training camp roster) down. We need two teams, not three.”