Photo Credits: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
The Toronto Maple Leafs begin their 2024-25 season tonight against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Toronto and Montreal have met in the last five season openers, and Toronto has won three out of those four meetings.
Toronto will have a new-look defensive core with Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson making their Maple Leafs debuts.
Former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty will make his Maple Leafs debut. He will play on a line with Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg. Pacioretty served as the Canadiens’ captain for three seasons, from 2015 to 2018.
Auston Matthews could become the first player to score a hat-trick in three opening-night games. He did so last season on October 11, 2023, against Montreal, and in his rookie season on October 12, 2016, against the Ottawa Senators.
Toronto will look to find success under new head coach Craig Berube. The Maple Leafs went 46-26-10 last season but struggled against divisional opponents, going 14-15-4.
Montreal’s starting goalie is Sam Montembeault. Last season, he went 16-15-9 with a GAA of 3.14 and a save percentage of .903.
Joseph Woll is the expected starter for Toronto. In 25 games last season, Woll went 12-11-1 with a .903 save percentage and a GAA of 2.93.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman tweeted this morning that goaltender Dennis Hildeby will be joining the Maple Leafs for tonight’s game.
The puck drop for tonight’s game will be at 7:00 PM on Sportsnet.
