The Montreal Canadiens battled back from being down twice, and Josh Anderson played hero to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in their home opener.
The first period was fast and furious, and seven minutes into the first period, it was Cole Caufield with his first shot on goal on Matt Murray, but Murray came up with the blocker save. With eight minutes left in the first, Michael Bunting scored for the Leafs when he was right in front of the net, got a quick pass, and fired the puck past Jake Allen.
A couple of minutes later, Toronto was it again, but this time Allen was up to the task of making a quick critical save to keep it a one-goal game. Thirty seconds into the second period, it was Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield up to their usual antics on a two-on-one, and Caufield beat Murray top shelf to tie the game at one.
Nine minutes later, Toronto regained the lead as Denis Malgin found a loose rebound and put the puck into the back of the net to make it 2-1. With less than five minutes remaining in the period, Christian Dvorak had a great chance but was denied by Murray.
On the ensuing play, Malgin found himself on a breakaway, but this time, Allen could make the stop to avoid going down two. Thirty seconds later, Caufield scored his second of the game to tie the game at two when he stole the puck, went up the ice, and once again beat Allen top corner.
With less than three minutes left in the period, Alex Kerfoot was tripped on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, but Allen made a sublime pad save to keep it a 2-2 game. The third period was tight, with both teams looking to take the lead.
With four minutes left in regulation, the Leafs were pressing, but Allen was up to the task of making key saves in pressure moments. With 2:30 on the clock, Sean Monahan, on his birthday, found a loose puck off a shot deflected from Jordan Harris and beat Allen to give Montreal their first lead of the game.
Forty seconds later, John Tavares forced a turnover and went on a two-on-one with William Nylander, who managed to tie the game at three. With 17.9 seconds left in regulation, the Habs sealed the win when Josh Anderson, off a mad scramble, got the puck and beat Murray with a shot from the top of the circle to make it 4-3.
The final seconds ticked off as the home crowd started cheering their usual Ole Ole, and the Montreal Canadiens had sealed their first win of the season.
