The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are playing live on the NHL schedule on Wednesday to start the season and the all Canada matchup starts at 7 pm ET. The game is from the Air Canada Centre and has two of the oldest teams in the league battling to start the season in an Original Six showdown.
The Canadiens come into the game after a loss against the Senators in the preseason and after playing against the Leafs the team will be playing on the road against the Boston Bruins. PK Subban is coming in after a strong season and he is the leader of the team and a brimming superstar in the NHL. Carey Price had a fantastic season last year and he will try and keep that going this season.
The Canadiens drought continues and the team would love to get back to the finals and win a Cup for the entire nation. The Leafs are looking to get things right after making some major changes in the offseason and the team has Montreal to start before playing Detroit. The team lost to the Red Wings in their preseason finale and they will play against the team on the road on Friday after opening up at home against Montreal. Dion Phaneuf is the captain and he is one of the steady players left after the changes to the team this offseason.
The two teams here are in different places, as the Leafs are in rebuilding mode, while the Canadiens feel they have a chance to make another deep run. Price won the Vezina trophy as the top goalie in the league after putting up some mind boggling numbers, leading the league in wins, goals against average and save percentage. No one else was close and now he has the chance to do it again and he also won the MVP award as a goalie.
Price has played well against the Canadiens rival, as he has a 1.94 GAA in his last five starts and this will be a chance to open things on a strong note. The team swept the Leafs last season in four games and the team has won six straight overall in this battle between Canadian teams. The Canadiens are expecting a strong season from captain Max Pacioretty and he led the team in goals last year with 37. Phil Kessel was traded this offseason and the Leafs are expecting Jonathan Bernier to get things going after having a tough season last year. This will be the first game of the season in the NHL.
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