Pre-season game 1: Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet One (English),
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
Streaming: RDS, Sportsnet
The NHL is just about to start up for a new season, an earlier beginning for an updated schedule of 84 games. On the first night of a shortened pre-season, the Canadiens will split their training camp roster in half to play two games.
The main stars will be staying in Montreal to take on a group of Toronto Maple Leafs players, while Toronto will do the same with its top talent, ensuring the home crowds see the main attractions in the first game of the year. It means the fiercest fight will be put forth by the visiting teams that feature several players on the bubble of an NHL roster, making for a good test for everyone to quickly get into game shape.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#22 Chris Kreider |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovský |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #49 Jared Davidson |
#62 Owen Beck |
#40 Sasha Pastujov |
| #54 Tyler Thorpe |
#82 Lucas Condotta |
#60 Alex Belzile |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#72 Arber Xhekaj |
| #65 Luke Mittelstadt |
#74 Ethan Samson |
| First half |
Second half |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#32 Jacob Fowler |
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Easton Cowan |
Nick Paul |
Colton Sissons |
| Brandon Duhaime |
Teddy Blueger |
Vinni Lettieri |
| Brendan Brisson |
Logan Shaw |
Ryan Tverberg |
| Michael Pezzetta |
Henrik Rybinski |
Marc Johnstone |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
Nick Blankenburg |
| Dakota Mermis |
Troy Stecher |
| Noah Chadwick |
Cole McWard |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Samuel Hlavaj |
Ken Appleby |
Pre-season game 2: Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS Info (French)
In the Maple Leafs region: TSN4
Streaming: RDS, TSN
While it doesn’t feature the top talent, the game played at Scotiabank Arena might be of more interest to Canadiens fans. That’s where the roster hopefuls will be trying to make their first impression versus NHL-calibre competition.
At forward, it will be Florian Xhekaj and Brett Berard vying for a forward spot on opening night, while a defence pairing of David Reinbacher and Adam Engström wants to force a conversation on the makeup of the blue line. Even in goal we’ll see Samuel Montembeault looking to retake a place in Montreal by going up against the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna.
A good showing versus many of the Leafs’ starters will go a long way for all of these players. With a maximum of three games to prove yourself there is little time to make an impression, so everyone will be attempting to make tonight’s a good one.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #76 Zachary Bolduc |
#77 Kirby Dach |
#85 Alexandre Texier |
| #15 Alex Newhook |
#71 Jake Evans |
#37 Brett Berard |
| #63 Florian Xhekaj |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #88 Samuel Poulin |
#41 Hunter McKown |
#46 Filip Mešár |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #42 Adam Engström |
#64 David Reinbacher |
| #79 Maksymilian Szuber |
#44 Reilly Walsh |
| First half |
Second half |
| #35 Samuel Montembeault |
#34 Kaapo Kähkönen |
Toronto Maple Leafs projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Matthew Knies |
Auston Matthews |
Jack Roslovic |
| Gavin McKenna |
John Tavares |
William Nylander |
| Steven Lorentz |
Jacob Quillan |
Zack MacEwen |
| Benout-Olivier Groulx |
Tinus Luc Koblar |
Harry Nansi |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Jake McCabe |
Chris Tanev |
| Marshall Rifai |
Darren Raddysh |
| Emil Andrae |
Ben Danford |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
Anthony Stolarz |
