The Toronto Maple Leafs will kick-off their regular season against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena, in front of zero fans.
Typically for a Toronto Maple Leafs home opener against the Montreal Canadiens, the building would be full and Maple Leafs Square would be buzzing all night; however this year it’s different.
That’s alright with me. I’ll save hundreds of dollars by eating my own food and drinking my own beer in the comfort of my living room.
Either way, it’s incredibly exciting to know that the NHL will be in full-swing again, as the Leafs start their 56-game journey towards the playoffs. As we’ve said multiple times on this website, Toronto has their best chance at a Stanley Cup in decade’s. They are the favorite to win the North Division and have the luxury of not having to play their former division rivals Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins until the Conference Finals.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to seize this opportunity and it starts tonight against the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens Will Be Much Better This Season
Although the Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs last season, they weren’t supposed to. They upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Qualifying Series, but in a normal world, their record wouldn’t have secured them a top-eight spot.
Let’s look at the team’s record last year and some key additions and departures:
- 2019-20 Record:
- 31-31-9 (71 points), 12th place in Eastern Conference
- Key Additions:
- Jake Allen, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Edmundson, Josh Anderson, Corey Perry and Michael Frolik
- Key Departures:
- Max Domi and Nate Thompson
The team added a great back-up goaltender (Allen), veteran depth scoring and defense (Toffoli, Edmundson, Perry, Frolik) and a potential game-changer (Josh Anderson). Although they traded Domi and let Thompson walk in free agency, on paper, Montreal seems like a much better team than last season.
Below is what Montreal’s lines were in practice on Tuesday, so let’s assume this will be their starting line-up against the Leafs tonight.
Forwards:
Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia
Paul Byron – Jake Evans – Artturi LehkonenDefense:
Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber
Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak – Alexander RomanovGoaltending:
Carey Price
Jake AllenMontreal’s defense is alright, and the team’s top-nine forwards provide a ton of depth. Not only that, but they still have Carey Price in net. I’ve argued that Price is overrated in the past, but his 10 games in the bubble showed us that he’s still one of the best in the NHL.
No matter what each team’s record is, a Leafs/Habs match-up is an exciting game to attend or watch on TV. This rivalry will be stronger than ever this season, because we will get to see this match-up 10 (!!!!) times this year. Not only that, but there’s a strong possibility that we will see this again in the first or second round of the playoffs.
By the end of May, these teams are going to hate each other more than the Grinch hates Christmas and I can’t wait.
Just because it’s always fun to do, I will start the season off with a big prediction for the game tonight. Mitch Marner scores two goals and the Leafs win 4-2. BOOM! Go Leafs Go!