Game 1. The Leafs head over to Montreal, to battle a familiar fole, the Montreal Canadiens. Both teams are coming into the season with seasoned expectations, in the hopes of having a successful season.
Leafs Lines:
F:
Michael Bunting - Auston Matthews - Mitch Marner
William Nylander - John Tavares - Denis Malgin
Pierre Engvall - Alex Kerfoot - Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese - David Kampf - Nicolas Aube-Kubel
D:
Rielly-Brodie
Muzzin-Holl
Giordano-Sandin
G:
Matt Murray
Ilya Samsonov
Habs Lines:
F:
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Josh Anderson
Sean Monahan - Kirby Dach - Mike Hoffman
Juraj Slafkovsky - Christian Dvorak - Brendan Gallagher
Rem Pitlick - Jake Evans - Evgenii Dadonov
D:
Guhle - Savard
Xhekaj - Wideman
Harris - Kovacevic
G:
Jake Allen
Samuel Montembeault
Tavares to Play
Captain, John Tavares is back! The Leafs have announced that it is extremely likely that the all-star forward will suit up for the season opener.
Originally, it was expected that Tavares would miss the beginning of the season, due to an offseason injury. That is not the case. As the forward is set to be ahead of schedule and practicing at a high tempo.
The Leafs are extremely pleasant to have their captain back in the lineup. Tavares will center the second-line, along with a spot on the first power play unit. Due to the recent news, it is expected that Nick Robertson is the odd man out and has been sent to join the Toronto Marlies.
JT played in 79 games last season, scoring 27 goals and assisting on 49 plays. The Leafs start their season tomorrow, against their long-time rivals the Montreal Canadiens.
Malgin Continues Offensive Streak
Leafs' forward Denis Malgin has notched his first goal of the season. The preseason superstar gave the Leafs the, 2-1 lead after bouncing in a William Nylander rebound.
For Malgin this is his second stint in the NHL in his short career. The young Swiss native had a phenomenal training camp and preseason, impressive heads throughout the league. On the play, both William Nylander and John Tavares recorded assists on the play.
Cole Caufield Strikes Twice
Cole Caufield? No, it's Goal Caufield! The Wisconsin native, has been excelling since being at the helm of coach Martin St. Louis.
Firstly, the youngster got on the board early in the second period. Approximately, 33 seconds in Caufield joined teammate Nick Suzuki on a two-on-one. Suzuki threaded the needle to Caufield, who roofed the puck by the goaltender. Caufield's goal tied the game at one a piece.
Secondly, Caufield's second goal came at the near end of the second period, when he straight out beat Leafs' goaltender Matt Murray. Caufield entered the offensive zone with full composure of the puck and roofed a wrist shot, above the glove of Murray.
Other Notes:
- Anderson potts GWG late
- Allen was steady