For the seventh straight season, the Montreal Canadiens are going to begin their season against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Wednesday, the league announced the five games that will be played on Opening Night, which is set to take place on September 29th.
This is nothing new for the Canadiens and was probably expected, but it gives Montreal a slight advantage going into this game. Over the past six season openers, they have a 2-2-2 record against the Maple Leafs, but Toronto won last year by a final score of 5-2.
Why the Canadiens have the advantage in the season opener
However, Montreal has the upper hand going into this game as they have experience playing together. This offseason has been a major upheaval for the Maple Leafs with a new general manager, new head coach and coaching staff, and numerous additions to the roster.
The Maple Leafs were certainly busy and brought in players like Darren Raddysh, Sergei Bobrovsky, Emil Andrae, and Jack Roslovic. On top of that, the first overall pick from June's draft, Gavin McKenna, is almost certainly going to be on the ice for the Maple Leafs to begin the season.
It takes time for a franchise to get everyone on the same page, from what the coaches expect from the players to the players just being familiar with their teammates on the ice. The biggest question, though, might be the health of Auston Matthews, who suffered an MCL tear in March. Even if he is healthy and ready to return for the first game, it will be a long time between games, which will certainly come with some rust.
As for the Montreal Canadiens, they don't have any major changes from the team that reached the Eastern Conference Final. They shouldn't face any of the challenges that the Maple Leafs are, and for the first game of the season, that extra advantage could be enough to get their first win of the season and send Maple Leafs' fans home disappointed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google