Canucks open with win over Flames
Matthews’ second goal sinks Canadiens in overtime
TORONTO 3 MONTREAL 2 (OT)
TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his second goal of the night in overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday in the NHL’s regular-season opener.
Matthews took a feed from Patrick Marleau and beat Carey Price upstairs 61 seconds into the extra period.
John Tavares, with his first for Toronto, also scored, while Frederik Andersen stopped 34 shots. Nazem Kadri added two assists.
Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw scored for Montreal, which got 23 saves from Price. Max Domi — the son of former Leafs tough guy, Tie Domi — had two assists in his first game with the Canadiens.
With the Leafs viewed as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders after adding Tavares in free agency to a roster already loaded with offensive talent, the city has been buzzing for months at the prospect of Toronto finally ending its 51-year title drought.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are loath to use the word “rebuild,” but have clearly begun a transition phase following the trade of captain Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights last month for Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round draft.
Despite the wide gulf in expectations, Montreal was the better team much of the night, and came close to taking a 3-2 lead on a third-period power play when Tatar hit the post.
Domi then had another chance on a bouncing puck that had Andersen desperately flailing in his crease.
While the Leafs were outshot 15-7 in the period, a down-and-out Price made an incredible pad stop on Kasperi Kapanen on a scramble just before the buzzer to end regulation.
Until the overtime, Price looked like the Vezina Trophy winner who won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2015.