Cole Caufield scored on a two-on-zero rush with 38 seconds left in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the marquee result on a night of NHL preseason openers, according to NHL.com.
Caufield converted a feed from Lane Hutson for the winner at Bell Centre after Montreal built an early 2-0 lead, saw Toronto score three unanswered to take the lead, and got the game back to even when Hutson beat the Toronto goaltender with a wrist shot from the hash marks in the third period. Chris Kreider played his first game in a Canadiens sweater since signing a one-year, $2.15-million deal with Montreal on Sept. 12, and did not register a point. Kreider spent his entire 13-season NHL career with the New York Rangers, a longtime Canadiens rival, before a June 2025 trade sent him to Anaheim, which preceded his move to Montreal as a free agent this month.
Toronto and Montreal also met in a split-squad game at Scotiabank Arena, where the Canadiens won 4-1 behind two goals from Phillip Danault. That game drew attention mainly for Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, who played his first game in a Toronto uniform, finishing with three shots on goal and a blocked shot in more than 23 minutes of ice time. Darren Raddysh scored in his own Toronto debut, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 saves in his first appearance for the Maple Leafs, adding a veteran presence to a crease battle that will be watched closely in Toronto through camp.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Stars beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 at Enterprise Center in both clubs’ preseason opener. Arttu Hyry opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the game for Dallas, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki tied it for St. Louis in the second period, and Jack Becker’s goal later in the period stood as the winner.
The results were the first preseason action of the 2026-27 season for all five clubs involved, part of a full slate of exhibition games across the league Saturday as NHL training camps move toward roster decisions ahead of the regular-season openers, which begin in full the week of Oct. 6. No trades or significant injuries were reported around the league Saturday, and the rumour mill remained quiet beyond ongoing, unconfirmed chatter connected to a handful of pending free agents and trade candidates already reported earlier this month.
The Edmonton Oilers, in a separate preseason opener Saturday, beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at Rogers Place in Mike Babcock’s first game as head coach.
