The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their 2025-26 regular season with a methodical effort against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, as Morgan Rielly’s game-winner midway through the third period and a pair of empty net goals provided the winning margin in a 5-2 victory over the club’s traditional rival.
William Nylander had three points (1 goal, 2 assists), Bobby McMann, Calle Jarnkrok, and Auston Matthews added singles for the Leafs, and Anthony Stolarz made 29 saves for his first victory of the season.
Toronto took an early lead on a McMann deflection of a Nylander shot, but surrendered that lead fairly quickly on Oliver Kapanen’s short-handed goal. Zach Bolduc gave the Habs a 2-1 lead early in the second on a sloppy Stolarz rebound, but the Leafs responded in kind on a hard-working fourth-line goal from Jarnkrok.
Both clubs traded chances in the third, but Toronto finally broke through with just under 11 minutes left in regulation, as Samuel Montembeault thwarted Matthew Knies on a breakaway, but stuck with the play and fed Rielly in the slot.
“I thought (Morgan) had a really good game, skated well, moved the puck well, good reads, defended well, he was solid. (It) was great to see him have a good game.” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after the game. “(There was) a lot of good, and there’s stuff that we’ve got to work on, but we did a good enough job to win the game. I thought our third period was our best period, (we did a) Good job protecting the league, closing it out. Goalie was good, we had some players that were really good tonight, but overall, our puck play wasn’t great, and I think that was the root of our problems.”
The most encouraging aspect of the game was the Leafs getting offensive contribution from three of their four lines, and that the defense was more activated offensively. There are not going to be end-to-end rushes from Brandon Carlo or Chris Tanev, but plays like Simon Benoit deflecting Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot or Rielly being the trailer not only on the winner, but a chance late in the first period is something that Toronto will have to continue to do in the post-Core Four era.
The area of concern was the power play, which seemed discombobulated in their two opportunities and an errant pass by Nylander led to Kapanen’s short-handed break and goal. The Leafs will take to the road and take on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in the first of a home-and-home series on Saturday.
