MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� Sam Montembeault made 48 saves, Cole Caufield scored on a first-period power play and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Montembeault set an NHL record for saves in a season-opening shutout.
鈥淕oing into the Bell Centre, first game of the season, you want to do well,鈥� Montembeault said. 鈥淏ig crowd and everybody was excited for this game 鈥� but I just turned those nerves into energy. And it went well.鈥�
Caufield scored at 7:48 of the opening period, finishing off a tic-tac-toe play with Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach. The Canadiens were 1 for 5 on the power play after going 0 for 30 in the preseason.
Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves for Toronto after expected starter Joseph Woll was held out of the lineup. Coach Craig Berube said Woll had 鈥渓ower-body tightness.鈥�
鈥淵ou almost get 50 shots on net and you don鈥檛 get a goal 鈥� their goalie played well,鈥� Berube after his first regular-season game behind Toronto鈥檚 bench.
Takeaways
Canadiens: Montembeault became the seventh Canadiens goalie with a season-opening shutout. He has two career NHL shutouts.
Maple Leafs: Toronto had trouble staying out of the penalty box with five minor penalties in the first 40 minutes. The Maple Leafs were 0 for 4 on the power play and hit three posts in the second period.
Key moment
Midway through the second period, Montembeault made a glove save on a one-timer from the slot by Auston Matthews, the NHL goals leader last season with 69.
鈥淲e did more than enough to score more than one goal tonight,鈥� Matthews said. 鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 happen.鈥�
Key stat
Caufield scored in the opener against the Maple Leafs for the third straight season. The 23-year-old American also had his 150th career point in his 206th game, becoming the fastest Canadien to reach that mark since Saku Koivu in 1997-98.
Up next
Both teams are back in action Thursday night. The Canadiens are at Boston, and the Maple Leafs visit former Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe and New Jersey.
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The Associated Press
