The Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night, spoiling Gavin McKenna’s NHL debut as the 2026-27 season opened across the league.
Alexandre Carrier’s goal at 13:12 of the third period made it 3-1 and stood up as the winner after Toronto pulled one back at 15:46, according to the NHL.com game summary. Josh Anderson tied the game in the first period and Zachary Bolduc put Montreal ahead early in the second. Anderson and Carrier each finished with a goal and an assist. Jakub Dobes made 25 saves for the win.
William Nylander scored both Toronto goals, the first just 48 seconds into the game. The Associated Press reported that the quick strike tied Zdenek Nedved for the fourth-fastest goal to start a season opener in franchise history. Kirill Marchenko, acquired from Columbus on Monday in the Matthew Knies trade, picked up an assist on that opening goal in his first game as a Leaf, NHL.com reported.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots in his first game with Toronto. McKenna, the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, had one shot on goal and finished minus-2 in 15:19 of ice time, according to NHL.com.
Montreal 3, Toronto 2. Saves: Dobes 25, Bobrovsky 21.
Panthers spoil Hurricanes’ banner night
In Raleigh, N.C., Gustav Forsling scored with 4.3 seconds left in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, moments after the reigning Stanley Cup champions had raised their 2026 championship banner before puck drop.
Forsling one-timed a pass from Carter Verhaeghe from just inside the blue line past goaltender Brandon Bussi’s glove, NHL.com reported. Jacob Markstrom made 15 saves for the shutout, while Bussi stopped 19 shots. Neither side scored on the power play: Florida went 0-for-7 and Carolina 0-for-6.
“Scoring goals is not what I do very often, so it’s always nice to score,” Forsling told reporters, according to NHL.com.
The game also marked the return of Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. NHL.com reported he played 20:32 and won 10 of 20 faceoffs.
Bruins strike three times late
The Boston Bruins scored three goals in a span of 1:15 late in the third period to beat the New York Rangers 3-0 at TD Garden. Fraser Minten scored the winner, JJ Peterka added a goal in his Bruins debut and Mark Kastelic finished it off with an empty-net goal, according to NBC Sports Boston.
Jeremy Swayman stopped all 24 shots he faced for the shutout. The game was scoreless through two periods, with Swayman and Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin trading stops. NBC Sports Boston reported the win extended Boston’s home-opener winning streak to 11 games. The Bruins host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Oilers open against Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks were tied 1-1 after the first period at Rogers Place when this roundup was filed, according to ESPN’s live scoreboard, with Evan Bouchard scoring for Edmonton. A full recap will follow. The Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights were also still playing.
Via NHL.com, NHL.com, NBC Sports Boston and The Associated Press.
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Photo: William Nylander in January 2024, by Jenn G from Seattle, WA, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Not from Tuesday’s game.
