Canadiens Snap Maple Leafs' NHL Record, Sam Montembeault Sets Record in Opening Night Win
The Montreal Canadiens played spoilers on Wednesday night, snapping the Maple Leafs' record-setting streak with shutout win for Sam Montembeault.
The last time that the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to record a goal in a game occurred way back on Nov 21, 2021 -- a stretch of play that lasted an NHL record 227 games without having been shut out. Now, the streak is over.
The Leafs fired 47 pucks towards the Canadiens' net, and simply could not buy a goal in the season opener. As a result, Habs goaltender Sam Montembeault skated away with an NHL record of his own. His 47 saves were the most ever recorded in a season opening shutout win.
The Maple Leafs weren't nearly as sharp as they needed to be on this night, despite the high volume of shots towards Montembeault. They were sloppy with the puck in the offensive zone, passed far too often and didn't get nearly enough traffic in front of the Habs' net.
One bright spot for the Leafs in the loss was the tremendous play of Anthony Stolarz, who was thrust into the starting role at the last minute due to an unexpected injury to Leafs starter Joseph Woll.
Stolarz stopped 26 of 27 shots in the 1-0 loss, but may get the nod in both ends of the back-to-back, with a matchup against the Devils on the docket tomorrow night in New Jersey.
The loss to the Habs certainly stings, and also showed us that the Leafs are still prone to a lot of the same mistakes they made last season. It may take some time for Craig Berube to get everyone dialed in, but what we saw tonight more closely resemble the 2023-24 Maple Leafs, and not a new and improved group. Very disappointing.
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