Starting The Season With A Smile

If there's one thing that brings me unbridled joy, it's seeing the Toronto Maple Leafs struggle. For most teams, I can empathize with players when they're struggling or if a team falls due to a couple of unlucky breaks, but the Leafs don't get that benefit of the doubt due to every single sports media outlet being based in Toronto, flooding the Canadian landscape with Maple Leafs stories. As it stood, the Leafs kicked off Sportsnet's Canadian hockey coverage tonight as they travelled to Montreal to play the Canadiens, and they did what they've done so well since 1967: they lost to the bleu-blanc-et-rouge.

It wasn't just any loss either. The 1-0 loss to the Canadiens marked the first time since November 20, 2021 that the Maple Leafs had been shut out in a game. That's a 227-game run of not being blanked that came to an end tonight thanks to Sam Montembeault's record-setting 48-save opening night shutout. Losing to your historical rivals is one thing, but losing to them when they set records for defensive hockey is something that makes me chuckle. As you can see, there's zero love lost here for the Maple Leafs on this night.

Both teams actually factored into the last time that Toronto was shut out as well. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves to snap Toronto's five-game winning streak with a 2-0 win on November 20, 2021 for his second-straight shutout while the Penguins won consecutive games for the first time that season after shutting out Montreal 6-0 in the previous game. It isn't often a team shuts out the two oldest franchises in NHL history in back-to-back games, but the Penguins have that accomplishment in their history.

Toronto now sits one shutout away from the 1965-66 Maple Leafs who were shutout twice in their first two games of the season to set a franchise record, and they're two blankings away from the 1930-31 Montreal Maroons who hold the NHL record by being shutout three times in their first three games. Surprisingly, Montreal is now one shutout away from tying their franchise record of two-straight shutouts set in 1955-56 to start the season. Perhaps even more surprising is that the Toronto Maple Leafs hold that unique NHL record as they posted five-straight shutouts to start the season in 1930-31!

Look, I'll cut the celebrating and admit that the Maple Leafs got goalied tonight by Sam Montembeault after seeing that Toronto outshot Montreal by a 48-27 margin, but I'd better not see TSN or Sportnet breaking down this game like the Leafs just lost a playoff series. It's one game, it's early in the season, and upsets happen earlier in the campaign. Montreal will be a tough team to beat this season, but Toronto won't lose many games where they put 48 pucks on net with the talent they have.

I don't expect Toronto to go 0-82 this season nor do I expect them to miss the playoffs. As stated, there's just too much talent there. But an opening game where they get shutout, snapping a 227-game streak of not being blanked while Sam Montembeault adds his name to the NHL record book after the Montreal Canadiens win via shutout? Hockey season is starting off right for me.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!