Cole Caufield ended Montreal’s Bell Centre preseason opener with 38 seconds left in overtime, finishing a Lane Hutson give-and-go to give the Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Montreal swept the clubs’ split-squad opening-night set, with the other group taking a 4-1 decision in Toronto.
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
Hutson was the driver for Montreal, scoring once and setting up two more. Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov supplied the other Canadiens goals.
- Slafkovsky opened the scoring at 4:27 of the first period, getting his stick on a shot for a 1-0 Montreal lead.
- Demidov extended the margin on the power play at 12:04, hammering a one-timer from low in the right circle.
- Henrik Rybinski pulled Toronto within one at 3:56 of the second, converting from the top of the crease with the Maple Leafs on the man advantage.
- Colton Sissons, making his Toronto debut after signing a two-year deal July 1, redirected Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot through traffic at 8:32 to even the game.
- Marc Johnstone put Toronto ahead 3-2 at 16:21, finishing Rybinski’s backhand feed near the blue paint.
- Hutson tied it 2:43 into the third period, finding a loose puck at the left hash marks and beating the goalie to the far side.
- In overtime, Caufield worked around Logan Shaw at the offensive blue line as Toronto changed. He and Hutson broke in two-on-none, with Caufield lifting the return pass over Samuel Hlavaj’s extended left pad.
Jakub Dobes stopped nine of 11 shots before Montreal made a goaltending change midway through the second period. Jacob Fowler entered and turned aside nine more.
Toronto started Artur Akhtyamov, who made 13 saves on 15 shots before Hlavaj replaced him in the middle frame. Hlavaj also stopped 13 shots.
Chris Kreider was held off the scoresheet in his first appearance for Montreal, recording one shot in 17:05. The forward joined the Canadiens on a one-year contract Sept. 12, two days after Anaheim terminated his deal.
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 1
At Scotiabank Arena, Phillip Danault scored twice as Montreal’s second group handled Toronto in the other half of the split-squad matchup.
- Danault needed only 51 seconds to beat Sergei Bobrovsky high on the left side and give Montreal an early lead.
- Darren Raddysh tied it at 16:39 of the first period on the power play. His slap shot from inside the blue line changed direction off Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson.
- Maksymilian Szuber restored Montreal’s lead at 4:46 of the third, driving a slap shot through bodies from the point.
- Danault sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 18:59.
- Samuel Poulin added the final touch 38 seconds later, tipping a puck past Anthony Stolarz.
Sam Montembeault stopped all 13 shots he faced before Kaapo Kahkonen took over midway through the second period and made 11 saves.
Bobrovsky, a Toronto free-agent signing on a three-year contract July 1, made 10 saves in his Maple Leafs debut. Stolarz entered during the second period and stopped 15 shots.
Raddysh was also making his Toronto debut. The Maple Leafs acquired him from the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 19 for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, then signed him to an eight-year contract in a sign-and-trade move.
Toronto’s Gavin McKenna, selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, logged 23:27 in his first preseason game. He recorded three shots on goal and blocked one shot.
Stars 2, Blues 1
Jack Becker scored late in the second period to send the Dallas Stars past the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center, where both clubs opened their preseason schedules.
- Arttu Hyry put Dallas on the board 16 seconds after the opening faceoff, tapping in Cameron Hughes’ backhand pass near the right post with the net open.
- Aleksanteri Kaskimaki answered for St. Louis at 13:30 of the second period, finishing a two-on-one rush with a wrist shot from the right circle.
- Becker broke the tie at 18:29 of the middle period. On a breakaway, his attempt took a bounce off Jordan Binnington and into the net.
Remi Poirier handled the opening two periods for Dallas, making 11 saves. Brandon Halverson closed it with a clean third period, stopping all 12 St. Louis shots he faced.
Binnington made 16 saves on 18 shots over two periods for the Blues. Georgii Romanov relieved him and turned away all 10 Dallas shots in the final period.
