Canadiens visit Maple Leafs as Kreider debuts and McKenna makes NHL start

The Montreal Canadiens kick off the 2026‑27 NHL season on the road Tuesday night, visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs in a nationally televised matchup. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, with coverage on Sportsnet in English, TVA Sports in French, and streaming on ESPN+, Sportsnet+ and TVAS+.

Kreider’s first Habs game, McKenna’s NHL debut

After a strong pre‑season in which split‑squad games limited how often the full lineup could dress together, this opener marks the first time Montreal’s regular group takes the ice as one. The spotlight will be on Chris Kreider, who plays his first meaningful game in a Canadiens sweater and steps directly onto the top line alongside Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki.

Behind that trio, Juraj Slafkovský lines up with Alex Newhook and prospect Ivan Demidov, giving Montreal another offensive unit with skill and pace. Phillip Danault centres a third line with Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach, while Jake Evans and Josh Anderson anchor the fourth line. On defence, Lane Hutson partners with Alexandre Carrier at the top of the rotation, followed by pairings of Mike Matheson with Noah Dobson and Jayden Struble with Arber Xhekaj.

Jakub Dobeš gets the start in goal for the Canadiens, with Samuel Montembeault backing up. Kaiden Guhle is unavailable due to injury, and Adam Engström, Oliver Kapanen and Florian Xhekaj are listed as healthy scratches for the opener.

Toronto arrives at the season’s first game with several fresh faces of its own. Sergei Bobrovsky, newly arrived to stabilize the crease, starts in net for the Maple Leafs with Anthony Stolarz in reserve. Up front, Auston Matthews centres the top line with Jack Roslovic and young winger Easton Cowan, while John Tavares and William Nylander flank highly touted rookie Gavin McKenna on the second line. McKenna, selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, makes his NHL debut in the rivalry setting.

Further down the depth chart, Brandon Duhaime, Nick Paul, Colton Sissons, Benoit‑Olivier Groulx, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen round out the forward group. The blue line is led by Morgan Rielly and includes Darren Raddysh, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman‑Larsson and Troy Stecher.

Bobrovsky tasked with cooling a high‑powered Habs attack

The Maple Leafs are counting on Bobrovsky to slow a Montreal offence that ranked among the most productive in the league last season. Recent history, however, tilts toward the Canadiens: over his last three starts against Montreal in the past two years, Bobrovsky has gone winless with 11 goals allowed.

Early in a new schedule, games often trend high scoring, and both teams have the personnel to turn the opener into a track meet. For Montreal, the key questions revolve around how quickly Kreider, Demidov and Hutson can mesh with an already cohesive core. For Toronto, focus will fall on McKenna’s first NHL steps, Bobrovsky’s ability to change his narrative against the Canadiens, and the status of winger Kirill Marchenko, acquired the day before and awaiting resolution of his visa before he can join the lineup.

With renewed storylines on both sides and two fan bases eager for an early statement, the first clash of the season between these long‑time rivals should offer an immediate test of where each club stands.