Our takeaways after the Maple Leafs’ season-opening loss in Montreal

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Talk about a tough opening day for the Maple Leafs.

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The Leafs lost 1-0 in Montreal against the Canadiens on Wednesday night, marking the first time in 21 years that Toronto didn’t score in its first game of the season. In 2003-04, the Leafs were blanked 4-0 by the Canadiens in Toronto.

And that came after yet another injury for goaltender Joseph Woll.

So, no, it was not a day that Craig Berube will remember fondly in his first game as Leafs coach.

Our takeaways:

NO EXCUSES

Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault was spectacular in a 48-save performance at the Bell Centre.

On at least three occasions, the Leafs beat the 27-year-old but not the iron behind him.

There’s no category in the National Hockey League standings for almost-goals, and there are no points awarded for nearly scoring.

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You’ve heard it before — like, say, on an annual basis in the playoffs in Toronto — that a club’s best players have to make a difference.

Auston Matthews, in his first game as Leafs captain, and Mitch Marner each had six shots on goal, the most among Leafs. On a pass from Max Pacioretty, Matthews had a terrific chance to tie the game in the final seconds but shot the puck into Montembeault’s chest.

Neither could tilt the ice in the Leafs’ favour. Ditto for William Nylander, who had quiet one shot on goal, or John Tavares, who had four.

Scoring chances are wonderful when some goals, if not a lot, are the result. When there’s a zero on the scoreboard at the end of the night, the scoring chances don’t add up to anything.

And the power play, which is supposed to get a boost with new assistant coach Marc Savard, couldn’t score on four opportunities.

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It was the first time the Leafs were shut out since Nov. 20, 2021, when the Pittsburgh Penguins beat them 2-0 in Toronto. And it was the first time the Leafs failed to score in their season opener since the 2003-04 season, when they lost 4-0 on home ice against the Canadiens.

Montembeault is no Carey Price or Ken Dryden. That the Leafs couldn’t beat him — on what’s always an electric night in Montreal when Toronto is in the building — had to make for a quiet flight to New Jersey, where former coach Sheldon Keefe and the Devils await for a Thursday night match.

Coincidentally, Easton Cowan did score on Wednesday night, but it was for the London Knights in Owen Sound against the Attack in a 5-4 London victory. For much of the offseason, Cowan was pencilled into the lineup on napkins across Leafs Nation.

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Instead, the 19-year-old didn’t stand out in the preseason, something that had to happen in order for him to crack the Leafs roster, and he was returned to the Ontario Hockey League. If only Cowan could have spread some of that modest offence on Wednesday night, in his first game of the season for the Knights, to his future teammates.

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IN THE LEAFS’ NET

There’s no way to paint a positive on the news that came from the Leafs earlier in the day, not long after word started to spread that Dennis Hildeby had been summoned from Toronto.

The fact that injury-prone Woll couldn’t play in Game 1 of 82, despite making it through the preseason relatively unscathed, doesn’t bode well in any stretch of the imagination for the rest of 2024-25.

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Given Woll’s past in getting to know the Leafs’ medical staff better than most players, does anyone have any confidence that, once he returns, he can make it through the remainder of the season without an issue? Even the fans who tell they bleed blue and white, who try to be upbeat at every turn, know there has to be concern going forward.

What took some of the sting out of the Woll absence in Montreal was the play of Anthony Stolarz. When he spoke to us following practice on Tuesday, Stolarz was anticipating making his Leafs debut in his home state on Thursday against the Devils.

Instead, Stolarz was thrust into duty 24 hours earlier than he was planning to play and made 26 saves. There have been questions about how much work Stolarz can handle, which is fair considering he is 30 and has not played in more than 28 games in one NHL season.

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The sample size, one game, is almost too small to tell us anything. Still, it should set some minds at ease that Stolarz wasn’t lit up for four or five goals, and now we could get a glimpse at Dennis Hildeby in what would be his NHL debut on Thursday.

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THE IMPACT

Berube wants the Leafs to play a heavier, more direct game than they did under Keefe, and we saw it at various points throughout the night.

Finishing checks, strong on the forecheck — the Leafs gave the Canadiens trouble for much of the game.

Montreal scored its only goal on a power play in the first period, a testament to the Leafs’ strong play in the defensive zone.

Chris Tanev, signed for his warrior-like manner, blocked a team-high four shots. When Simon Benoit and Jake McCabe were on the ice, the Canadiens couldn’t make an impact at five-on-five.

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Steven Lorentz brought enthusiasm to the fourth line with David Kampf and Ryan Reaves, and the trio shone.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who might have had the Leafs’ best chance when he stopped by Montembeault after departing the penalty box, was effective.

And as for the future of Timothy Liljegren, who may be on the trading block, the Leafs have depth in right-shooting defencemen and will get another when Jani Hakanpaa returns from a knee injury.

If Liljegren, the Leafs’ first-round pick in 2017, was going to make a significant impact, we would have seen it by now. When Berube called him out last week for not being heavier in his play, it was a indication that Liljegren’s remaining time in Toronto could be short. We’ll see where it goes.

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