Rookies Shine as Habs Take Down Maple Leafs

After a devastating loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday Night at home, the Canadiens come out on top with a big 4-2 win at Scotiabank Arena. 

The Saturday night match against the Maple Leafs gave Montreal's rookies a chance to shine. With goals from Alex Newhook, Riley Kidney, Lane Hutson, and Sean Farrell the future of this team will pan out to be something special. 

Kappo Kähkönen got the start, playing his first full game for the Canadiens this preseason, he stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced. Montreal also manages 29 shots on goal, a definite improvement from the 13 they had managed on Thursday night. 

Montreal came out strong as Newhook embraced his big role of the night, opening the scoring midway through the first period with a goal set up by Zach Bolduc and Alex Carrier. Riley Kidney was able to add to the lead in the second period, and Montreal never looked back.

The Leafs attempted to spark a comeback in the third, with William Nylander cutting the deficit, but Sean Farrell’s goal earlier in the period had already given the Canadiens enough padding to hold onto the win. Unlike Thursday’s match, where defensive mistakes and shaky goaltending cost Montreal the game, the Habs stuck to their structure and executed with confidence across all four lines.

After the game, Canadiens announced on that 24 players were reassigned to the Laval Rocket’s training camp, including forwards Riley Kidney, Filip Mesar, Joshua Roy, and Luke Tuch, along with defenseman Ryan O’Rourke and goaltender Jacob Fowler.

The Canadiens will continue their preseason schedule with a neutral site preseason matchup against the Ottawa Senators at Videotron Centre in Quebec City.