The long wait is over, and the 2025-26 NHL season has begun. The Montreal Canadiens were facing down an old foe and last year's Atlantic Division champions, the Toronto Maple Leafs, minus Mitch Marner, but still as dangerous as ever.
And the scoreboard seemed to reflect that. The Maple Leafs got out of the gate with a win 5-2 over the Habs. This was in stark contrast to last year, when the Canadiens shut out the Leafs on an incredible Montembeault performance.
Just looking at the box score, it doesn't look good. Giving up 5 goals and only scoring two isn't exactly a blowout, but it doesn't look that close either.
But that is why the numbers don't tell the whole story.
The game was even until 9 minutes into the third period, and two Montreal Canadiens defenders broke and lost their sticks. Mike Matheson had his stick break trying to keep the puck in the zone, and Lane Hutson lost his stick turning to catch Knies, and that was more than enough to give Rielly the go-ahead goal.
And then, with Montembeault pulled to try for the try, Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored their first goals of the season, and put the game way out of reach. But do empty net goals really count when we are talking about emotional victories?
The Canadiens hung with the Toronto Maple Leafs through pretty much all of the game, and even took the game to them for chunks of this game. The Canadiens outshot the Leafs and had the lead during the second period.
Oliver Kapanen scored an absolute beauty short-handed goal for his first career NHL goal, and Zachary Bolduc got his first in Montreal. They hung with the Leafs without the first line scoring, when depth scoring was an issue last year.
If Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky had scored a goal, that could have been the difference. And we know that the top line will get going; they just aren't going to score every single game.
The biggest step will be the next couple of games. That one win against Toronto opening night last year was one of the lone bright spots in a dismal start for the team. Now, one lost game does not a slow start make. No team has ever, or will ever, go 82-0, and as losses go, this one wasn't terrible.
The combination of Toronto still being one of the top teams in the league and the way that the Canadiens took the game to the Leafs, there is a ton to be happy with this opener.
Lane Hutson doesn't look like he will have a sophomore slump, and in fact, looks better than ever. He has evolved his shot to be more of a threat, which is something that he can use along with his deception to become even more than a threat.
Demidov had some flashes of brilliance, and while he had some slip-ups, namely a penalty in the third period, he is still a rookie and should take some time to get up to full speed. Bolduc slotted in well and Oliver Kapanen has proven himself to be a true NHL player.
Despite the score, there was a lot to like with the Montreal Canadiens' loss to start the 2025-26 season. We are comparing one of the best teams in the league to a team coming to the end of a rebuild, and the comparison looked pretty great.