Toronto at Montreal

After finally breaking a 19-year curse in the first round back in 2023, Toronto was bounced out of the playoffs in the opening round last year. Sheldon Keefe was shown the door, and Craig Berube has taken over. The Maple Leafs still are solid up front with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner all returning. The Leafs have an abundance of goalies on their preseason roster to choose from and it appears Joseph Woll will be the initial starter with Anthony Stolarz backing him up. Stolarz had an impressive performance on Thursday when he stopped all 30 shots he faced in a 2-0 preseason victory over Detroit, which played its starters. Montreal is still rebuilding since its improbable playoff run in 2021. The Canadiens have a strong top line with Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield, but need more scoring depth on the offensive end. Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goaltender after appearing in 41 games with a 16-15-9 mark and a .314 goals-against average in 2023-24. Toronto won the final five meetings last season, outscoring the Canadiens 25-11. Montreal has lost 16 of 20 against Eastern Conference teams. Take the Maple Leafs.