Rielly wins it at 3:24; Nylander, Tavares each has three points for Toronto
via NHL.com
Morgan Rielly scored with 1:36 remaining in overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 5-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in the season opener Wednesday.
Rielly took a pass from John Tavares on a 2-on-1 and shot past sprawling goalie Carey Price.
“It was a good game to play in, to watch. Good way to open the year with a win,” Rielly said. “They’re a good team, they came out and played hard, which is what we expected, so we’re happy with the win, obviously. We’ve got a lot of areas to get better, and we’ll talk tomorrow about ways we can improve, but to open with a win, it’s always a good feeling.”
Rielly’s goal came 34 seconds after Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen got across the crease and stopped a one-timer by Tyler Toffoli.
“When a goalie steps up to make a save like that, the boys get fired up,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said.
Nylander had two goals and an assist, Tavares had a goal and two assists, and Andersen made 28 saves for the Maple Leafs.
“It’s the first time playing a game at that tempo,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We just had a pretty emotional comeback win for our first game, so I’m not going to get too nitpicky. We’ll get better every day.”
“I think we were the better team. We talked about before the game staying out of the box because that’s where they get momentum, and obviously they did tonight,” Anderson said. “I think anybody watching the game [knows] we were the better team out there, but we’re not going to forget this one. We’ll come out next time and play better.”
Joe Thornton, who signed a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs as a free agent on Oct. 16, 2020, after playing the previous 15 seasons for the San Jose Sharks, had no points and two shots in 17:30 of ice time.
“Wasn’t that fun? Great game. Boys were down early, but we managed to come back and what a great finish that was by [Rielly],” Thornton said. “Hearing my number 97 from St. Thomas, Ontario, announced (before the game), you can’t beat that.”
LEAFS WIN!
Battled back to win it 5-4 in overtime! #LeafsForever #FuelledByG @GatoradeCanada pic.twitter.com/Saommw8lmg
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 14, 2021
LET'S GO MO! #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/3WdlUykpWc
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 14, 2021
OT heroics at home 🙌
Here are tonight's @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/sZz7wkTyAy
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 14, 2021
Morgan Rielly scored his fifth career overtime goal – the second-most by a defenseman in @MapleLeafs history. The only blueliner with more: Tomas Kaberle (7). https://t.co/rm0IYshz3T
#NHLStats #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/EhCSsH9mTR— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 14, 2021