MONTREAL — With the pressure of starting the season the Montreal Canadiens' No. 1 goalie, Sam Montembeault felt the nerves running through him before puck dropped at the Bell Centre.
But instead of caving under that pressure, the 27-year-old from Becancour, Que., stopped 48 shots in front of his home crowd in Montreal's 1-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
Montembeault also set an NHL record for saves in a season-opening shutout.
"Going into the Bell Centre, first game of the season, you want to do well,” he said. “Big crowd and everybody was excited for this game — but I just turned those nerves into energy.
“And it went well."
A pre-game ceremony that included a video montage celebrating the Canadiens’ history and an orchestra conducting “Fix You” by Coldplay only added to Montembeault’s jitters.
But with the Maple Leafs pressing early, he made three quick saves and was off and running.
Montembeault's biggest save was his last when he stood tall on a point-blank shot from Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews from the low slot with four seconds left on the game clock.
He also denied Matthews, who scored an NHL-leading 69 goals last season, midway through the second period with a windmill glove save on a one-timer from the hash marks.
Matthews later hit the post with a backhand in front of the net for one of three times the Maple Leafs struck iron in the second.
“We did more than enough to score more than one goal tonight,” Matthews said. “That didn’t happen.”
“You almost get 50 shots on net and you don’t get a goal — their goalie played well,” added head coach Craig Berube after his first regular-season game behind Toronto's bench.
Montembeault needed every one of his saves to secure the win and help Cole Caufield’s first-period, power-play goal hold up as the game-winner.
“Thank you,” a chuckling Caufield said of his message to Montembeault after the game. “He's a big-time player, and that showed tonight. Really good performance, and just got to keep playing strong in front of him."
Montembeault entered the season with an opportunity to become Canadiens’ undisputed starter after splitting duties with since-departed Jake Allen and backup Cayden Primeau last season.
He’s also in the mix to be one of Canada’s three goalies at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a tune-up tournament for the 2026 Olympics that starts in February at the Bell Centre.
"I think for the team, it just shows confidence in Monty,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said. “Monty playing this game, it's big for him. You don't get do-overs. This is the first game of the season, you don't get to go back and replay it. So to me, it's a lot of positive tonight.”
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs didn't have their No. 1 after Joseph Woll was surprisingly kept out of the lineup with “lower-body tightness,” Berube said.
Off-season signing Anthony Stolarz, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last spring, stopped 26 shots and gave the Maple Leafs a chance to win.
“He looked unbelievable tonight, probably our best player on the ice,” Matthews said. “He just looked confident, composed, made some great saves when he had to — that 5-on-3, some odd-man rushes, some bad breaks we gave up, and he stood tall.”
Though it’s unclear how long Woll will be out, his unexpected absence was concerning for the Maple Leafs.
The 26-year-old was also out with an undisclosed injury for Toronto’s Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Woll's played just 73 games combined in the NHL and American Hockey League over the past three seasons.
Berube didn’t confirm whether Woll, Stolarz or emergency backup Dennis Hildeby would get the nod when Toronto visits the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. The Canadiens head to Boston to take on the Bruins on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press