Maple Leafs score 3 points in third quarter to beat Canadiens 5-2 – The Hockey Writers –

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens kick off another season of rivalry. As both teams enter the 2025-26 season, there’s a lot of pressure on both teams to be better this year than last. That’s a good thing for competition, but also for the NHL, as both original six teams were competitive and made the playoffs.

game review

Issue 1

With the puck dropping for the new season, it didn’t take long for the Maple Leafs to get on the board. Just one minute into the game, John Tavares found William Nylander, who put the puck in the net, and Bobby McMahon added in a tip-in to give the team an early 1-0 lead. After the goal, the players’ physical fitness improved, and less than five minutes later, the Canadiens converted a penalty kick to send Toronto to its first power play (PP) of the season.

However, Oliver Kapanen received a pass and beat Antoni Stolarz to score his first career goal, leveling the score at 1-1. The score remained the same as Montreal began its first power play of the season. The two sides were tied 1-1 in the first quarter, and the Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 11-7.

Second issue

The Canadiens got a goal from Zach Bolduc a minute and a half into the second period. However, the Maple Leafs did not roll over. They fought back and Calle Jarnkrok scored on a rebound to tie the game at 2-2. Much of the second quarter was typical mid-frame, but lacked the energy of the opening night. It was a pretty slow period until Mathieu Nice converted a penalty kick with 6:22 left.

The final five minutes were a bit faster, but the game was tied at 2-2, with Montreal still leading 22-19.

The third issue

At the beginning of the third quarter, both teams struggled to tie the score. About three minutes later, with the Toronto Blue Jays leading the Yankees 4-1 in the ALDS, Maple Leafs fans suddenly started cheering. That sparked a chant of “Go Blue Jays,” which was honestly the loudest chant from the crowd since Garrok’s goal.

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Seconds later, Auston Matthews blocked a shot and sat on the bench in agony. Fortunately, he wasn’t gone for long. After Ivan Demidov’s offensive zone penalty, Matthews returned to the ice for the power play.

Toronto’s power play failed to deliver and the game was tied at two. But not for long. Matias Maccelli found Knies with a partial breakthrough and although he failed to score, he continued to play. The puck bounced in front and Morgan Rielly buried it in the shotgun to make it 3-2.

The Maple Leafs maintained their lead throughout the third quarter. Sam Montebou tied the game with less than two minutes left, and Toronto sealed the game with an empty-net goal from Matthews off a pass from Nylander. After that, the Canadiens once again withdrew their goalkeeper, and Nylander scored his first goal of the season, rewriting the score to 5-2 and giving Toronto its first victory of the season.