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Welcome back to the NHL regular season! If you take a look at the lineup, it looks remarkably familiar to the very last game of the regular season last Spring. With one – glaring – addition in Chris Kreider. Habs fans are undoubtedly familiar with the American power forward for his infamous collision with Carey Price in the 2014 NHL Playoffs. The incident is locally known as the start of Price’s injury troubles; there is no other player (besides maybe Marchand or Lucic) that Canadiens faithful would vilify more. Now, he will be playing along with the young stars that spent their rookie season going to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals during Price’s final season, one the Captain while the other scored 50 goals last year. Times certainly change, but Montreal is hoping they stay on the path they elected immediately after that Cup run – to be better than last year.

On the other side of the ice is the very-much revised Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs kept only four forwards from their roster last season, with familiar faces now littering the bottom six and another #1 overall pick in Gavin McKenna. Just yesterday, John Chayka traded Matthew Knies in exchange for Kirill Marchenko. Sergei Bobrovsky, two-time champion and three-time Vezina winner, started between the pipes with a Maple Leaf on his sweater. This season’s rivalry series with Toronto should be explosive.

Habs Lineup

5) Twenty seconds into the second period, and Dobes was called on to make another sliding save. Montreal won the zone but lost the puck and Jack Roslovic flew past Suzuki at the Toronto blueline. He sent a cross-ice pass through the zone to Marchenko, and Dobes had his glove handy as the shot went back across the crease just over his pad. The Leafs and Habs traded chances on bad defensive giveaways and missed assignments, putting both goaltenders on the game’s highlight reel already with excellent saves each.

6) Despite a persistent pace from the home team, Montreal was able to work their way through the coverage when Matheson took the puck down the wall and fed Bolduc in the slot. Bolduc crept into the soft ice as all eyes were on the smooth-skating defenceman, extended Montreal’s most zone time of the period so far, and buried the perfect pass behind Bobrovsky. As the time in the first half of the second period elapsed, Montreal and Toronto both began to skate stronger and more cohesively. Players got their first puck touches, forwards got their first shots, and the defencemen laid their first checks. In a period of more than a minute of constant possession, the Leafs hemmed the third line in their zone and punished the Xhekaj-Struble pairing. Habs fans will remember this pairing in excruciating detail as they watched goal after goal get scored last season with those two on the ice as a set. Thankfully, Jakub Dobes comes to play every game and was able to bail out all three pairings over the course of the second period.

7) Newhook got himself another excellent chance when he made a power move towards the net and forced Bobrovsky to sprawl a bouncing puck out of play. There was an ensuing bout of fisticuffs – gloves on – resulting in roughing minors for Newhook and Jake McCabe. With some open four-on-four ice, the skills showed out for Montreal as Caufield, Slafkovsky, and Hutson each made rushes to the net at different stages. With just over two minutes left in the middle frame, Caufield got his stick stuck between Colton Sissons’ legs, tripping him clearly and putting Montreal back onto the penalty kill. Carrier, Matheson, and Dobson anchored the defence, and diving plays from Newhook and Evans earned multiple clears for the visitors. With Montreal leading at the intermission, the dramatic first impressions of the season were at stake for both uber-popular franchises.

8) Both Marchenko and Nylander got shots off in the first minute of the third, and the Canadiens were on the defensive for extended stretches before Dobes could freeze the puck or they were able to put it out of play. Dobes made a glorious glove save on a Nylander slap shot well into the circle, and the Canadiens’ first in-zone faceoff came from a Toronto icing not long after. Six minutes through the third period and Slafkovsky, Suzuki, Caufield, and Demidov had yet to break through with their skill and offensive talent, looking outdone by the size and enthusiasm of the new-look Leafs. Additionally, the ice appeared very choppy. Passes skipped along the ice all game, players slipped when making tight turns, and there was more than one crash into the boards during a puck pursuit.

9) A line rush and net drive effort from Jake Evans earned the Canadiens their second power play of the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for tripping Evans, an even looser call than Demidov’s, and the top unit rewarded the home crowd with two posts rather than a two-goal deficit. Immediately after the penalty, Alexandre Texier interfered with Nick Paul away from the puck. Nylander had made another dash down the wing, and Paul, following up, got the puck after Dobes rebounded the puck back towards the boards. Carrier and Dobes carried the load of the penalty kill, the former cutting valuable seconds off the clock and passing lanes, the latter making two crucial stops to halt the building offensive momentum.

10) Montreal established its two-goal lead when a rolling puck was sent on net by Carrier. The puck flipped end over end through five bodies and over Bobrovsky’s shoulder, the result of a dogged forecheck by Texier and Dach. Raddysh chewed on another minus after he turned another puck over to Texier as the French National Team player caught up to him in his own zone and forced a reckless pass. The lead would not last the period, however, as Nylander showed off his own prowess by delivering a beautiful give-and-go with Easton Cowan inside Dobes’ crease to cut the deficit in half. Hutson was clear in the frame, his number glaringly obvious behind the play. Entering the final minutes of the third period, the Canadiens fought for every loose puck. The inevitable icing came with 1:01 remaining, and Montreal lost the faceoff. Raddysh fired his bomb wide, and Montreal iced the puck again with around 30 seconds left. Slafkovsky sent the Habs one chance at the empty net about 15 feet above it, and a faceoff at the far dot with nine seconds left just about iced the game; they held on from there for the win.

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Jakub Dobes

Montreal’s number one goaltender certainly did not forget how to tend goal over the summer. Capping off his 26-save performance with a trademark stare-down at the end of the game, Dobes was in position each time he needed to be. His technique was concise and measured, the swimming traits to his game seemingly long gone. We will continue to evaluate over the season, but if game one is any indication, Montreal should expect to be given a chance to win every single game he starts.

Stats: 26 SV; 2 GA; .929 SV%

2nd Star – Alexandre Carrier

Montreal defenders were standouts during the game, controlling the pace of play and only rarely giving ground to the forecheck. Carrier demonstrated his veteran wisdom and physical capabilities by joining the rush, boxing out his attackers, and showing any observers why he is likely in store for a significant raise this summer.  He scored the game-winner in the same way he scored his goals last season – positioning, enthusiasm, and a willingness to shoot the puck.

Stats: 1 goal; 1 assist; +1 rating; 3 shots; 1 block; 1 hit; 21:54 T.O.I

3rd Star – Mike Matheson

Mr. Does Everything Right was everywhere on Tuesday night, creating the Bolduc goal and refusing to give ground to Toronto’s skilled forwards. He often matched up with Marchenko and McKenna, and neither were able to break through offensively. In a choppy game with plenty of giveaways, the steady presence of your most versatile defender is reassuring to any coach and walking away with two points makes his consistency even more valuable.