Rielly scores winner as Maple Leafs open NHL season with win

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Our roots run deep.

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It’s the slogan that was emblazoned on towels placed on each seat at Scotiabank Arena as fans arrived for the Maple Leafs’ regular-season opener on Wednesday night.

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Fitting, then, that the longest-serving Leafs player made the difference against the Montreal Canadiens in a 5-2 Toronto victory.

Defenceman Morgan Rielly, looking to rebound after a tough 2024-25, scored the winning goal at 9:02 of the third when he fired a pass from Matthew Knies over the left shoulder of Montreal goalie Samuel Montembeault. Captain Auston Matthews and William Nylander both scored empty-net goals to seal the win.

The Leafs have won 10 home openers in a row. They haven’t lost one since Oct. 7, 2015, when the Canadiens beat them 3-1 in Mike Babcock’s first game behind the Toronto bench.

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Our takeaways from the victory:

RIELLY RULES

It had been quite a while since we’ve seen Rielly play with the kind of confidence he put on display throughout the night.

And no, we’re not referring to the long off-season.

The veteran defenceman was the Leafs’ best player. Rielly played a smart game from start to finish and was an offensive force, taking advantage of his instincts to jump into the play for several good chances. He led the Leafs with five shots on goal and eight attempts.

In short, this is the Rielly that the Leafs missed last season.

What does Rielly look like when he’s at his best?

“He’s confident with the puck,” goalie Anthony Stolarz said. “He’s making plays at both ends of the ice.

“I think he did a great job of holding his gap, getting stick on pucks, and moving guys in front. We can all see the offensive talents there, and when he feels confident he can fly up the ice and join the rush like that. For him to get that goal, I think, is huge for him and huge for us as a team.”

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Rielly never is comfortable talking about himself and didn’t delve too much into what it meant personally to have such a good start.

“We’re all trying to do it, and I think I’ve been open and honest about all those conversations (with staff during the summer),” Rielly said. “We’re all trying to improve off last year. And I thought there were lots of guys who did that tonight.”

It’s OK to take a bow, Morgan. Matthews recognized the effort, awarding Rielly with the post-win belt.

NOT BEST WAS GOOD ENOUGH

The Leafs won’t get many style points for the victory.

What was positive, though, was that despite playing some sloppy hockey in the early going, the Leafs didn’t allow the game to get away from them.

It’s a steely group under coach Craig Berube, and with the game tied 2-2 going into the third period, the Leafs clamped down. Stolarz had to make just six saves in the final 20 minutes.

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A coach knows his team can’t play perfect hockey. But when it wins by three goals after getting past some obstacles, on the whole, it’s doing good things.

Berube acknowledged the puck play was not great by his players, and on that we would agree. He was asked to expand.

“I just think sometimes, first game of the year … it wasn’t all bad,” Berube said. “I think it’s decision-making more than anything, and understanding the speed of the game. You practise and you play these exhibition games, the level of intensity and the speed of the game is not there. Let’s get that clear.

“You’re in a regular-season game, first game of the year, and you’re playing the Montreal Canadiens, who are fast, and they’re on you. We were slow in our decision process, whether it’s moving it from a D to a forward, or forwards making a quick decision on what they’re going to do with the puck.”

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LOOK WHO’S SCORING

Neither McMann nor Calle Jarnkrok had scored since last March.

For McMann, it was 24 games, including playoffs, since he scored on March 25 against Philadelphia. Jarnkrok had gone 28 games, post-season included, since he scored on March 10 against Utah.

McMann’s goal, the first of the game, was a blueprint of what Berube wants him to do. He went to the net and deflected in a Nylander shot.

The message was getting through to McMann, but nothing landed for him in the final weeks last season.

“If you put yourself in those areas, whether it goes off your stick or whatever part of your body, sometimes when you’re there, it just ends up going in,” McMann said. “You find those pucks around there, and you look at the shot charts and the goal charts around the league all year, and there’s a ton of dots (signifying goals) right at the top of the crease.

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“All summer, you try to work on your game, try to do what you can to score more. It’s nice to get the first one.”

Jarnkrok scored on a Rielly rebound, and we’ll be curious to see if it’s enough to keep him in the lineup on Saturday night in Detroit. If Easton Cowan gets into that game for his NHL debut, perhaps it’s Jarnkrok who comes out.

Berube could make the decision to not mess with a winning lineup, and we would understand that as well.

“Nice to be back playing with the boys,” said Jarnkrok, whose spot on the roster has been tenuous. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was a big win.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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