Canadiens @ Maple Leafs Round 1 Game 1: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

2021 North Division Semifinals Game 1

Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs

How to watch

Start time: 7:30 PM EDT / 4:30 PM PDT
In Canada: CBC, Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the U.S.: NHL Network
Streaming: Sportsnet Now

After a 56-game regular season that was disrupted by COVID-19 scares and then an outbreak that forced rescheduling and a significant compression of the final games, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have emerged among the top four seeds in the North Division. With a week off to recuperate from the demands of that final stretch, both teams are entering the playoffs relatively fresh.

It’ll be the first time either side has iced a mostly healthy squad in quite some time, as both finished the year missing at least one top-line player as well as regular members at other positions. As they get ready to begin their quest for a Stanley Cup, everything has been reset, and it’s now a matter of proving which team is best over a seven-game series.

The Leafs will be confident after putting together seven wins over Montreal in the regular season on their way to top spot in the group. Their lineup sports the league’s top goal-scorer and depth throughout the forward lines. Montreal’s construction is more aligned with shutting players down than outscoring them outright, so it will be a matter of finding the right balance between the needed defensive game and still earning chances on offence. It’s going to take every player playing at the top of his game to pull off an upset, but that’s not out of the question for the group that will skate out as the underdogs tonight.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Scratches

F: Alex Belzile, Cole Caufield, Laurent Dauphin, Michael Frolik, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Lukas Vejdemo, Jesse Ylönen
D: Cale Fleury, Erik Gustafsson, Otto Leskinen, Xavier Ouellet, Alexander Romanov
G: Charlie Lindgren, Michael McNiven, Cayden Primeau

Injured/Ill

F: Jonathan Drouin (leave of absence)

Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup