Maple Leafs vs Canadiens could get heated on their Opening Night

If the preseason is any indication, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens' opening-night faceoff on Wednesday could be a rough contest.

Leafs and Habs games are often full of hard hits and fueled by passionate fanbases. The two teams met twice in the pre-season, and while the first meeting was tame, the second had plenty of fireworks.

The catalyst for the violence came in the first period of the September 28th game, when Canadiens winger Patrick Laine went down following a brutal knee-on-knee collision with Leafs center Cedric Pare.

Habs defenseman Arber Xhekaj took obvious exception to the incident and wasted little time going after Pare. 

The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs don't like each other

Tensions continued to spill over into the second period as another fight ensued between the Habs’ Juraj Stafkovsky and the Leafs’ Marshall Rifai. 

Xhekaj was at the center of a melee in Montreal’s preseason matchup against Ottawa last Tuesday. Following a controversial hit to Senator Tim Stuzle, Xhekaj found himself in a brawl with Sens Captain Brady Tkachuk. 

Xhekaj received a maximum fine from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his actions against the Maple Leafs. No further punishment was given for the hit on Stutzle.

The events of both games garnered much discussion throughout the hockey community. Much of the discourse surrounded player safety, with many opinions on Xhekaj’s play. 

The stage could be set for an explosive regular-season opener as both teams look to make a statement. The Leafs are expected to bring a more aggressive style to the ice in their first season with coach Craig Berube at the helm. 

The Habs could still be looking for retribution for Laine. In August, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded the Finnish winger to Montreal.

Many fans hoped that a change of scenery would lead to increased production. Despite the gruesome-looking play, Laine’s injury will not require surgery, but he is expected to be out for two to three months.

The NHL’s two most historic Canadian teams have faced each other 768 times in the regular season. The Habs currently lead the series with a record of 366-301-88-13.

They have met in a mutual season-opening game 22 times, including five in the last six seasons. The Maple Leafs won four of those five games. 

Any game between these two Original Six clubs has the potential for some added physicality or altercations. After the events of their last meeting, tensions could be higher than usual. Whether it leads to fights or not, it should be a fun way to kick off the new NHL season.