The CH spoils Kirill Marchenko and Gavin McKenna’s debuts in Toronto

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The CH spoils Kirill Marchenko and Gavin McKenna’s debuts in Toronto
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

Finally!

Tonight, the Canadiens played the very first game of their 2026–27 season. For the occasion, the team was in Toronto to face off against the Maple Leafs.

With Oliver Kapanen out due to injury, Alex Newhook played center on the second line. Here's what the lineup looked like:

On the Maple Leafs' side, no fewer than 10 newcomers were making their debuts with the club. Among them, all eyes were naturally on Kirill Marchenko (who received a lukewarm reception from the fans) and Gavin McKenna, the first overall pick in the most recent draft.

Here's what Jim Hiller's lineup looked like:

It didn't take long to see the first goal of the game: less than a minute into the game, William Nylander fired off a solid shot, and Jakub Dobes couldn't do anything to stop it.

Marchenko picked up his first point in a Leafs uniform on the play.

But despite that, the Canadiens struck back a few minutes later. And of course, true to form against the Leafs, it was Josh Anderson who scored the Canadiens' first goal of the season.

Kirby Dach deserves credit for his work on that play.

After 20 minutes, the score was tied 1-1 between the two teams.

In the second period, the Canadiens took the lead for the first time this season. Zachary Bolduc scored his team's second goal.

Just like last year, he scored in his team's season opener.

Bolduc's goal was the only one of the game. Jakub Dobes, for his part, made several big saves in front of the Habs' net.

After 40 minutes, the Canadiens led 2-1.

In the third period, the Habs had several good scoring chances. And after missing a few (Juraj Slafkovský, in particular, came very close to scoring on the power play), Alexandre Carrier gave his team a two-goal lead.

He took advantage of the traffic in front of Sergei Bobrovsky to catch the goaltender off guard.

The Maple Leafs, however, showed their teeth afterward: a nice play by William Nylander allowed the team to cut the deficit to one goal.

Phillip Danault got beat… and the other Habs players were (pretty) passive too.

The Habs held strong down the stretch, however, and were able to protect their lead.

Martin St-Louis's team thus kicks off its season with a win.

Final score: 3-2 Montreal

The Habs will be back in action Saturday night when they travel to Pittsburgh to face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.


Overtime

– The Canadiens were slow to find their rhythm tonight, but they certainly earned those two points. Despite an early goal, Jakub Dobes (who was excellent tonight) regrouped and helped the team weather the storm early in the game, before the offense finally came alive. We've seen this play out a few times in the recent playoffs as well, hehe.

– Josh Anderson, as is often the case against the Maple Leafs, was really good tonight. The new assistant captain played a physical game and seemed particularly ready for tonight's match. Let's hope he can keep up this pace.

– It's still (very) early, but the first line hasn't really found a way to make an impact tonight. Chris Kreider didn't have a great game, and the chemistry didn't seem to be clicking with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. It's normal for it to take a little time before they click—we get that—but we'll need to see some improvement sooner or later.

– Zachary Bolduc had a good game. He was able to score and stood out (in a good way) during his time on the ice. That's great!

– Kirby Dach played well in the win. The forward, whom many people wanted to see in the stands (or even traded), had some very strong moments and contributed to his team's victory. His nice play on Anderson's goal also allowed him to record a point in his fifth consecutive season opener.

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