Third-period dagger from Morgan Rielly caps Toronto’s late push; Nylander posts 3 points, Stolarz steady

TORONTO – NETNEWSLEDGER SPORTS – Cue the horn and crank the volume: Morgan Rielly ripped the go-ahead snipe at 9:02 of the third, and the Toronto Maple Leafs skated off with a 5–2 Opening Night win over the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena.

This made for a double celebration for Toronto sports fans, as the Toronto Blue Jays claimed the American League Division Championship as well.

The winner was a beauty off a busted breakaway: Matthew Knies was stopped by Sam Montembeault, chased down his own rebound, danced around a stick-less Lane Hutson, and slid it into the slot for Rielly, who wired it high glove for a 3–2 Toronto lead. “Great play,” Rielly said. “First game stuff—some good, some not so good—but we stuck with it and finished.”

How it unfolded

• 1:00 1st — TOR 1–0: Bobby McMann parks in the low slot and deflects a Nylander shot for the season’s first goal.

• 5:39 1st — 1–1: Shorty stunner. Oliver Kapanen jumps a neutral-zone miscue and beats Anthony Stolarz from the right dot for his first NHL goal.

• 1:30 2nd — MTL 2–1: Zack Bolduc (Habs debut) cashes a backhand rebound past Stolarz’s outstretched pad.

• 5:40 2nd — 2–2: Calle Järnkrok answers five-hole from the left hash after Arber Xhekaj blocks a point shot—game on.

• 9:02 3rd — TOR 3–2: Rielly dagger off the Knies hustle play.

• 18:28 3rd — TOR 4–2: Auston Matthews into the empty net; that’s 13 career goals in season openers, tying Alex Ovechkin for most among active players.

• 19:45 3rd — TOR 5–2: William Nylander adds the ENG to ice it.

Stars of the night

• William Nylander — 1G, 2A, touched everything in the offensive zone.

• Morgan Rielly — GWG + assist, cool in crunch time.

• Anthony Stolarz — 29 saves, calm under the Montreal cycle.

• Helpers buffet: John Tavares (2A), Steven Lorentz (2A). New Leafs Matias Maccelli (A, +1, 14:37) and Nicolas Roy (+1, 13:43) settle in nicely.

The benches weigh in

“Good enough to win, lots to clean up,” said coach Craig Berube. “Third was our best—protected the lead, closed it out. Goalie was good; some guys were really good. Puck play needs work.”

On the other side, Martin St. Louis liked the offensive-zone time but wants a shooting-first mentality as Montreal opens its slate.

Numbers & notes

• Leafs’ 10th straight home-opener win (since 2016-17) — ties the Capitals (10, 2001-12) and one back of the Canadiens’ record (11, 1953-64).

• Matthews joins Ovechkin (13) for active lead in season-opener goals; Goulet and Ciccarelli hold the all-time mark at 14.

• Habs debut: Noah Dobson (trade, June 27) logs 22:56, minus-1.

• Bolduc scores in his Montreal debut (acquired July 1).

Thunder Bay takeaway

Openers can be messy; the third-period push wasn’t. Toronto tightened the puck decisions, leaned on structure, and let the stars finish. Bank the points, build the habits—that plays in April. The Leafs Nation is counting on an improvement over the 2024-25 season, and expecting wins.