NHL on Tap: Maple Leafs and Canadiens face each other, three all-Canadian games are planned

Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN)

The Maple Leafs-Canadiens matchup at the Bell Center on Wednesday marks three all-Canadian games. Auston Matthews enters the season as the first American-born captain in the Maple Leafs' 107-year history and ranks third in franchise history with 368 goals, 52 behind leader Mats Sundin (420). Toronto added defensemen Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, as well as coach Craig Berube, who became the 41st coach in franchise history and led the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Montreal's most significant offseason move was the acquisition of forward Patrik Laine in a trade. He will play with the Columbus Blue Jackets on August 19th, but he will miss the first two to three months of the season after joining on September 28th Sprained his left knee in a preseason game against the Maple Leafs. However, center Kirby Dach will return to the lineup after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2023-24 home opener.

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT)

Sidney Crosby begins his 20th NHL season as his Penguins host the Rangers at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby (592 goals, 1,004 assists) needs four points to become the 10th player in league history with 1,600. The Penguins added forwards Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Cody Glass and Anthony Beauvillier, but Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and defensemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson remain the core pieces. New York is still smarting from losing three games by one goal to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals. Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick are new to the forward group, but the Rangers are hoping the line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere can pick up where it left off last season, when the three combined for 254 points.

Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights (10:00 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT)

The new-look Golden Knights host the Nathan MacKinnon-led Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas acquired goaltenders Ilya Samsonov and Akira Schmid and forwards Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz in the offseason. The biggest additions came before the 2024 NHL trade deadline, when Vegas acquired Tomas Hertl from the San Jose Sharks on March 8 and defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on March 6. Colorado is one of two teams (Carolina Hurricanes) where it can win. It has played at least 50 games in each of the last three seasons and will once again rely on forwards MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar. MacKinnon and Rantanen are each aiming for a third consecutive 100-point season.

Winnipeg Jets at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW)

Entering his 10th season, Oilers captain Connor McDavid needs 18 points to reach 1,000 points in his NHL career with the Oilers at Rogers Place. The Jets' Connor Hellebuyck (275 wins in 505 games), a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and the NHL's top goaltender, is aiming to become the fastest American-born player to reach 300 wins (Ryan Miller, 566 games). ).

Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SN1, SNP)

Quinn Hughes returns after winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman, and Rick Tocchet is back after winning the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year in Vancouver's opener at Rogers Arena. Forwards Yegor Sharangovich and Blake Coleman will look to build on their first 30-goal season with expanded roles for the Flames in the 2024-25 season, although Sharangovich is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve on Monday.