Canadiens Pull Huge Season-Opening Upset Over Maple Leafs, As Josh Anderson's Winner With 19 Seconds Left Caps WILD Finish
Last I saw the Leafs were a -260 moneyline bet before the puck dropped at Bell Centre on Wednesday night. DAMN what an intense opener between these Original Six rivals!! How about three goals in the final 2:30 of ice time, starting with Sean Monahan's beauty? Is that any good?
You could tell the Habs were playing with full hearts tonight. Following their stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final two postseasons ago, they had a rough 2021-22 campaign and only had superstar goalie Carey Price for five games. Price is battling a brutal knee injury and may never play again, but what an inspirational boost he provided this evening:
Habs fans just have to hope Jake Allen can rediscover some of the form he flashed in St. Louis that made him such a seemingly viable No. 2 goalie behind Price in the first place. Good start this evening with 29 saves. Encouraging, too, to see young phenom Cole Caulfield come out strong as the 21-year-old scored Montreal's first two goals.
Credit the Canadiens as a collective group for answering the BELL (venue pun intended) as heavy underdogs. They could've been intimidated by the Leafs' loaded lineup, yet they didn't falter even when William Nylander got that equalizer with only 1:50 left in regulation. The prevailing thought on the bench and in the arena could've been...
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But NOPE. A gritty effort to keep the puck in Toronto's end led to a turnover, and Josh Anderson sniped that shit over Matt Murray's glove hand for an epic GWG.
Hockey hits different in Montreal. Just does.
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