Montreal Canadiens open up the regular season in Toronto
Montreal Canadiens take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season opener.
After a long wait, Canadiens hockey is finally back. Montreal will begin their quest for a 25th Stanley Cup with a Wednesday night showdown against a long time rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This will be the first of ten meetings for the two clubs this season, which should lead to some highly competitive games, and the continuation of a lifelong rivalry between the two storied franchises.
Montreal got the best of Toronto last season, posting a 3-0-0 record against the highly offensive Leafs. Among those games was a 4-1 comeback win at Scotiabank arena, a dominating 5-2 win at the Bell Centre, and a thrilling 2-1 overtime win at the Bell Centre.
Things have changed drastically since last season, as both teams have brought in new personnel and added depth to their respective lineups.
The Leafs have added forwards Joe Thornton, Jimmy Vesey, and Wayne Simmonds. On the back end, T.J. Brodie will slot in on Toronto’s top defensive pair with Morgan Reilly, and Zach Bogosian will skate on the third pairing.
The Canadiens added Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson up front. Joel Edmundson will line up on the second defensive pair with Jeff Petry, and Alexander Romanov will be on the third pairing, while quarterbacking the second power play unit.
With bolstered lineups, both teams will look to start off the 2020-21 season on winning note.
Montreal will aim to contain Toronto’s top two lines centered by Auston Matthews and John Tavares. A combination of dangerous players that will equal heavy doses of Phillip Danault up front, and the Chiarot/Weber pairing on the back end for the Canadiens.
Keeping Toronto’s power play off the ice will be a key to victory for the Canadiens, as last season it ranked sixth in the league, operating at 23.1%. Montreal’s power play ranked 22nd, but with two revamped units this season, it has the potential to be effective against a subpar Toronto penalty kill.
The Canadiens should be able to take advantage of Toronto’s lack of depth on the blueline by maintaining a fast and steady forecheck from all four lines.
The Lineups are projected as follows:
Montreal
Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Drouin – Suzuki – Anderson
Toffoli – Kotkaniemi – Armia
Byron – Evans – Lehkonen
Chiarot – Weber
Edmundson – Petry
Kulak – Romanov
Price
Toronto
Thornton – Matthews – Marner
Vesey – Tavares – Nylander
Mikheyev- Kerfoot – Hyman
Barabanov – Spezza – Simmonds
Rielly – Brodie
Muzzin – Holl
Dermott – Bogosian
Andersen
Puck drop will be at 7:00 PM ET on Sportsnet and TVAS.