Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet (English), TVA Sports (French)
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet Now
The 2022-23 season kicks off for the Montreal Canadiens at home, versus their rivals from Toronto.
This year’s season debut finds the teams in very different places: the Maple Leafs confident in their roster and expecting their group to finally take the next step and challenge for a Stanley Cup, the Habs starting to build their way back into contention in the league with a crop of very young talent.
Montreal will have three rookies making NHL debuts. On the blue line, one of the top prospects, Kaiden Guhle, will start his career as a top-pairing defenceman, and Arber Xhekaj turns an exceptional 2021-22 campaign in the OHL into a starting role as well. The defence corps also features Jordan Harris and Johnny Kovacevic, who have a combined 14 games of NHL experience.
Up front, Juraj Slafkovský will be a main focus after being selected first overall at the NHL Draft. He made steady progress throughout the pre-season, and starts off with two very capable linemates in Christian Dvorak and Brendan Gallagher who should help ease him into a tough matchup right off the bat.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| #22 Cole Caufield | #14 Nick Suzuki | #17 Josh Anderson |
| #91 Sean Monahan | #77 Kirby Dach | #68 Mike Hoffman |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský | #28 Christian Dvorak | #11 Brendan Gallagher |
| #32 Rem Pitlick | #71 Jake Evans | #63 Evgenii Dadonov |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| #21 Kaiden Guhle | #58 David Savard |
| $54 Jordan Harris | #26 Johnny Kovacevic |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj | #6 Chris Wideman |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| #34 Jake Allen | #35 Samuel Montembeault |
Scratched: Jonathan Drouin, Michael Pezzetta
Injured: Joel Armia, Paul Byron, Joel Edmundson, Mike Matheson
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Bunting | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner |
| William Nylander | John Tavares | Denis Malgin |
| Pierre Engvall | Alexander Kerfoot | Calle Jarnkrok |
| Zach Aston-Reese | David Kampf | Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
Defencemen
| Left Defence | Right Defence |
|---|---|
| Morgan Rielly | T.J. Brodie |
| Jake Muzzin | Justin Holl |
| Mark Giordano | Rasmus Sandin |
Goaltenders
| Starter | Backup |
|---|---|
| Matt Murray | Ilya Samsonov |
