National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Montreal 4, Toronto 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Referees: Tom Kowal, Paul Devorski
Linesmen: Don Henderson, Steve Barton
Attendance: 19745

Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 3: Tomas Plekanec scored his second goal with 42.9 seconds to play in the third period as visiting Montreal halted a streak of four straight season-opening losses to Toronto.

Plekanic's game-winning tally caromed off the skate of Maple Leafs rookie defenseman Stuart Percy and into the net 96 seconds after blue-liner Morgan Rielly pulled Toronto into a 3-3 tie. Max Pacioretty and defenseman P.K. Subban added goals while PA Parenteau and blue-liner Alexei Emelin each collected two assists for the Canadiens, who received a 24-save performance from Carey Price.

Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak netted first-period goals for Toronto, which dominated the opening 20 minutes but failed to cash in on a four-minute power play spanning the second and third sessions. Jonathan Bernier made 28 saves in falling to 1-4-1 lifetime against Montreal.

Pacioretty scored the first goal of the season at 4:42 of the opening period, going around Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and slipping a shot past Bernier from the side of the net. Toronto tied it just under 3 1/2 minutes later, when Kadri redirected rookie Brandon Kozun's shot past Price, before going ahead on the power play in the final minute as Percy set up Bozak all alone on the doorstep.

Plekanec was sent in on a breakaway by Emelin 4 1/2 minutes into the middle session and slid a backhander past Bernier for the equalizer before Montreal forged ahead at 8:41 of the third, when David Desharnais won a battle along the boards and sent a pass to Subban, who snapped a shot past Bernier from the slot. Rielly knotted it briefly when his bad-angle shot deflected off a Montreal player in front with 2:19 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pacioretty's tally marked the 9,000th road goal in franchise history for the Canadiens. ... Kozun and Percy each pick up an assist in their NHL debuts for Toronto. ... The Canadiens dominated the faceoff circles 37-26, with veteran C Manny Malhotra is winning 11-of-16 draws in his Montreal debut.
Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   Toronto
Tomas Plekanec 2 Points Tyler Bozak 1
Tomas Plekanec 2 Goals Tyler Bozak 1
Alexei Emelin 2 Assists Leo Komarov 1
N/A Power Play Goals Tyler Bozak 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carey Price .889 Save Percentage Jonathan Bernier .875
Carey Price 24 Saves Jonathan Bernier 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 32 4 0-2 2-3 6 37
Toronto 27 3 1-3 2-2 4 26
Upcoming Games
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.