Game 777
Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 2
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Josh Anderson and Alexandre Carrier each had a goal and an assist for the Montréal Canadiens in a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
It was the season opener for each team.
Zachary Bolduc scored, and Jakub Dobes made 25 saves for the Canadiens.
William Nylander scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves in his debut for the Maple Leafs, who were playing their first game under coach Jim Hiller. Gavin McKenna, the Number 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, was minus-2 with one shot on goal in 15:19 for Toronto in his NHL debut.
After Dobes kept the game tied at 17 seconds of the second period with a glove save on a one-timer from Kirill Marchenko from the left face-off dot, Bolduc put the Canadiens up 2-1 at 4:52. Mike Matheson drove to the net and put the puck into the slot, where Bolduc shot past Bobrovsky’s glove.
Carrier made it 3-1 at 13:12 of the third period when he scored through traffic from the right point with a shot over Bobrovsky’s glove.
The Maple Leafs cut it to 3-2 at 15:46. Nylander worked a give-and-go with Easton Cowan, who took a pass at the side of the net and returned it to Nylander in the low slot, where he shot past Dobes’ glove.
The Maple Leafs went up 1-0 at 48 seconds of the first period. Nylander kept the puck in at the blue line and stepped around Nick Suzuki before carrying it to the right dot and scoring to the short side.
Marchenko, who was acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, assisted on the goal for his first point with Toronto.
Anderson tied it 1-1 at 10:53 when he deflected a point shot from Carrier and then swatted his own rebound out of the air at the top of the crease.
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BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR GOAL – 00:48 – Nylander (Rielly, Marchenko)
TOR PEN – 08:33 – Paul, hooking
MTL GOAL – 10:51 – Anderson (Carrier, Dach)
MTL PEN – 11:42 – Demidov, tripping
2nd Period
MTL GOAL – 04:52 – Bolduc (Matheson, Anderson)
TOR PEN – 12:56 – McCabe, roughing
MTL PEN – 12:56 – Newhook, roughing
MTL PEN – 17:45 – Caufield, tripping
3rd Period
TOR PEN – 07:01 – Ekman-Larsson, tripping
MTL PEN – 09:16 – Texier, interference
MTL GOAL – 13:12 – Carrier
TOR GOAL – 15:46 – Nylander (Cowan, Tavares)
GOALTENDERS
MTL – Dobes (W, 26-28)
TOR – Bobrovsky (L, 21-24)
SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 10+8+6 = 24
TOR – 11+6+11 = 28
ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Jakub Dobes, Sam Montembeault. Defence: Alexandre Carrier, Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson (A), Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj. Forwards: Josh Anderson (A), Zachary Bolduc, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Chris Kreider, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki (C), Alexandre Texier.
TOR – Goaltenders: Sergei Bobrovsky, Anthony Stolarz. Defence: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe, Darren Raddysh, Morgan Rielly (A), Troy Stecher, Chris Tanev. Forwards: Teddy Blueger, Easton Cowan, Brandon Duhaime, Zack MacEwen, Kirill Marchenko, Auston Matthews (C), Gavin McKenna, William Nylander, Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, John Tavares (A).
TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 1-0-0 (1.000)
TOR – 0-1-0 (.000)
ATTENDANCE
19,088
THREE STARS
⭐ Alexandre Carrier (MTL)
⭐⭐ William Nylander (TOR)
⭐⭐⭐ Josh Anderson (MTL)
