Preseason Game 71 – Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 1

Preseason Game 71
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 1
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario

Phillip Danault scored two goals for the Montréal Canadiens in a split-squad win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Gavin McKenna, the Number 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, made his debut for the Maple Leafs and had three shots on goal and one blocked shot in 23:39 of ice time.

Maksymilian Szuber and Samuel Poulin also scored for the Canadiens, and Sam Montembeault stopped all 13 shots he faced. Kaapo Kahkonen replaced him midway through the second period and made 11 saves.

Darren Raddysh scored for Toronto in his debut after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on June 19, signing an eight-year contract in a sign-and-trade.

Sergei Bobrovsky, who signed a three-year contract with Toronto as a free agent on July 1, made 10 saves in his Maple Leafs debut. Anthony Stolarz made 15 saves in relief after entering the game midway through the second period.

Each team was playing its preseason opener.

Danault gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds into the game, scoring top shelf over Bobrovsky’s left side.

Raddysh scored a power-play goal at 16:39 to tie the game 1-1, his slap shot from inside the blue line deflecting in off Montréal’s Mike Matheson.

Szuber made it 2-1 with a slap shot through traffic from the blue line past Stolarz at 4:46 of the third period.

Danault scored into an empty net at 18:59 to make it 3-1, and Poulin tipped a puck past Stolarz at 19:37 for the 4-1 final.

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BOXSCORE
1st Period
MTL PEN – 00:30 – Dobson, high sticking
TOR PEN – 04:44 – McKenna, hooking
TOR PEN – 07:22 – Raddysh, holding
MTL PEN – 18:01 – Bolduc, hooking

2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 00:51 – Danault (Bolduc, Texier)
MTL PEN – 01:28 – Xhekaj, cross checking
TOR PEN – 06:02 – Nylander, slashing
MTL PEN – 07:56 – Xhekaj, fighting major
TOR PEN – 07:56 – Rifai, fighting major
MTL PEN – 08:44 – Szuber, holding
MTL PEN – 15:56 – Engstrom, interference
TOR PP GOAL – 16:39 – Raddysh (Matthews, Tavares)
MTL PEN – 18:10 – Berard, holding the stick

3rd Period
MTL GOAL – 04:46 – Szuber (Newhook, Matheson)
MTL EN GOAL – 18:59 – Danualt (Anderson, Xhekaj)
MTL GOAL – 19:37 – Poulin (Mesar, Walsh)

GOALTENDERS
MTL – Montembeault (13-13), Kahkonen (W, 11-12)
TOR – Bobrovsky (10-11), Stolarz (L, 15-17)

SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 8+8+13 = 29
TOR – 8+11+6 = 25

ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Kaapo Kahkonen, Samuel Montembeault. Defence: Noah Dobson, Adam Engstrom, Mike Matheson (A), David Reinbacher, Maksymilian Szuber, Reilly Walsh. Forwards: Josh Anderson (A), Brett Berard, Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Jake Evans (A), Hunter McKown, Filip Mesar, Alex Newhook, Samuel Poulin, Alexandre Texier, Florian Xhekaj.
TOR – Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky, Anthony Stolarz. Defence: Emil Andrae, Ben Danford, Jake McCabe, Darren Raddysh, Marshall Rifai, Chris Tanev. Forwards: Benoît-Olivier Groulx, Matthew Knies, Tinus Luc Koblar, Steven Lorentz, Zack MacEwen, Auston Matthews (C), Gavin McKenna, Harry Nansi, William Nylander (A), Jacob Quillan, Jack Roslovic, John Tavares (A).

LATEST NEWS

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
Our condolences go out to the family, friends and fans of André Pronovost, who passed away today at the age of 90. A member of the Canadiens for four and a half of his ten NHL seasons, Pronovost would win four consecutive Stanley Cups (1957-60) with Montréal, scoring 18 points in 58 regular season games against Toronto, along with two more points in nine playoff games in back-to-back championship wins over the Maple Leafs in 1959 and 1960.

JUNE 5, 2026
Our condolences go out to the family, friends and fans of Cliff Fletcher, who passed away today at the age of 90. An NHL executive for nearly seven decades, Fletcher began his career as a pro scout for the Canadiens in 1956, part of six Stanley Cup winning teams in his decade of service. Fletcher would work his way up to general manger, in stints with St. Louis, Atlanta and Calgary, winning the Stanley Cup as Flames GM in 1989. He would become GM and President of the Maple Leafs in 1991, serving for six seasons, later returning as GM, then Senior Advisor, in 2007, staying in the role until 2024. Fletcher would spend a total of 33 seasons between Toronto and Montréal, being named to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2004.

MAY 28, 2026
Our condolences go out to the family, friends and fans of Claude Lemieux, who unexpectedly passed away today at the age of 60. A veteran of twenty-one NHL seasons, the first seven of them in Montréal, where he would win his first of four Stanley Cups in 1986, Lemieux would face off against Toronto ten times between 1986-90, notching four goals, ten points and 19 penalty minutes.

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