TORONTO — Maksymilian Szuber scored the winner in the third period as the undermanned Montreal Canadiens topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in a split-squad game on the first night of the NHL’s pre-season schedule Saturday. Phillip Danault, including one into the empty net, added two goals for Montreal, while Samuel Poulin rounded out the scoring. Samuel Montembeault was perfect in making 13 stops. Kaapo Kahkonen made 11 saves in relief after coming on in the second period. No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna made his professional debut for Toronto, which got its goal from Darren Raddysh. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced before being replaced by Anthony Stolarz midway through the game. Stolarz finished with 15 saves at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto iced the majority of its NHL roster, while Montreal travelled with a younger lineup minus the club’s usual star power. The Canadiens, who made last season’s Eastern Conference final, hosted the Maple Leafs in the other half of the split-squad matchup at the Bell Centre. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2026. Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
