"A couple of good shifts by the top six - Matias Maccelli set up Jake McCabe for a good look, William Nylander found Morgan Rielly at the backpost off the rush for another - led to an offensive-zone faceoff for the McMann-Tavares-Nylander line. A draw won by Tavares led to Nylander funnelling a puck to the net with McMann at the net front for a tip past Samuel Montembeault."
"The Leafs went to a power-play opportunity five minutes into the game, up 1-0 - a good chance to build on a fast start - and badly bungled it. Auston Matthews was casual when defending a rush against for a shorthanded scoring chance, and not long after, Nylander and Matthews didn't connect in the neutral zone for a sloppy turnover, leading to a shorthanded rush against and Oliver Kapanen's first-ever NHL goal."
"The game settled into a pretty evenly-matched (and sloppy at times) battle at five-on-five for most of the night, but the second period got off to a rough start for the Leafs. Defending an entry at the defensive-zone blue line, Oliver Ekman-Larsson batted a puck across the ice for a turnover and was beaten back to the front of the net by the eventual goal-scorer (Zack Bolduc), although Anthony Stolarz would've liked to have blockered the initial shot clear of danger"
Game lacked the level of competitive fire or physical intensity often expected in a season opener, though Toronto started hot. Strong shifts by the top six created chances that culminated in a McMann tip-in after a Tavares-drawn faceoff and Nylander feed. A five-minute power-play opportunity was mishandled, and a sloppy neutral-zone turnover led to Oliver Kapanen's shorthanded goal. Five-on-five play remained error-prone and evenly matched. Early in the second, an Ekman-Larsson turnover at the defensive blue line led to Zack Bolduc scoring after Anthony Stolarz spilled the initial shot into danger. Rielly and McMann stood out in the first period.
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