Canadiens Season Opener Record in Salary Cap Era

The Montreal Canadiens will kick off the 2024-25 NHL season with a home contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since the start of the salary cap era in 2005-06, this will be the 13th time the Canadiens will begin their season against their Original Six rivals.

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Unfortunately, whether on the road or at the Bell Centre, Montreal is 4-7-1 against Toronto in season openers dating back 19 years. Despite the lopsided win-loss total, the scores remain close, with the Maple Leafs maintaining a slight lead of 37-32.

Of course, no one will forget the 2023-24 opener, when the two teams combined for 11 goals, including an Auston Matthews hat trick in a 6-5 shootout victory for the home team Maple Leafs.

Meanwhile, the only time the Canadiens have been shut out to start the season in the past two decades came from the Maple Leafs, who picked up a 2-0 win to start the 2011-12 season.

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When the NHL returned from the 2004 Lockout, Montreal opened its first season in the salary cap era with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. This was the only time these two iconic clubs met to start the Canadiens' season.

Outside of the 12 matchups against the Maple Leafs, Montreal has opened against the Buffalo Sabres on four occasions. They split their four-game set 2-2, with the Canadiens winning in 2016 and 2017 after dropping both openers in 2006 and 2008.

The only other franchise the Canadiens have begun a season against is the Carolina Hurricanes. Like the Sabers, both teams have won a game apiece, with Montreal earning one in 2007 and the Hurricanes in 2019.

The club's longest win streak lasted from 2014 to 2017, while they accumulated two four-game losing streaks from 2010 to 2013 and 2018 to 2022.

Interestingly, the Wednesday night matchup against the Maple Leafs will be only the fourth home opener that has been the season opener since the Canadiens tend to start their campaigns on the road.

In those season openers at the Bell Centre, the club was just 1-2, with consecutive losses to Toronto in 2012 and 2013, but it earned a one-goal victory (4-3) against the Maple Leafs in 2022.

Montreal also doesn't shy away from extra time in these first games. They advanced to overtime and a shootout from 2006 to 2009, followed by contests in 2017 and 2023.

Despite their overall record of 8-11 in openers since the 2005-06 season, the Canadiens are 5-6 in their first games when qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the year they advanced to the Final in 2021, they dropped their opener to the Maple Leafs 5-4 on the road.

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