Montreal @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 25, 2019 ) Montreal 0, Toronto 3

Mitch Marner has provided early returns on his six-year contract extension he signed last month, following up an assist in the season opener by scoring two goals and setting up another to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to their second straight win. Marner and the Maple Leafs aim to continue their strong start to the season on Saturday when they host the Montreal Canadiens.

Marner, who set career highs in goals (26), assists (68), and points (94) last season, opened the scoring with a power-play goal in Toronto's 4-1 win over Columbus on Friday before netting his second of the night in the third period. The 22-year-old also set up Auston Matthews' goal with the man advantage in the third as the Maple Leafs improved to 3-for-10 on the power play on the young season. Tomas Tatar scored with the man advantage to ignite a stretch of three straight goals in the second period on Thursday, but Montreal was unable to hold its slim lead and dropped a 4-3 decision in a shootout to Carolina. "I was impressed, honestly, with the pace of this game from both teams," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "... At the end of the day, you like the effort of your team and you're disappointed that a point slipped away."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVAS

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (0-0-1): Jonathan Drouin collected his 100th point in a Montreal uniform by notching an assist on Jesperi Kotkaniemi's second-period goal in the season opener, and he was quick to credit his linemates. "We looked at each other before the game. We know we had some tough games last year. For us, it's just important to work," Drouin said of Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia. "We have talent and we're able to make plays. If we work and we have the puck on our stick, we'll be able to create some plays." Paul Byron, who set up Jordan Weal's goal in the third period of the opener, had two assists in two games against Toronto last season.

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (2-0-0): Toronto is in the midst of four games in six nights to start the season, much to the chagrin of coach Mike Babcock. "You're not a fan of that, but on the other hand, I'll know a lot more in six days than I would if we played four (in 10 days)," Babcock said. "You're trying to build confidence. At the start of the year, everyone is close to the same." Defenseman Morgan Rielly has set up a pair of tallies in back-to-back games to boost his total of multi-assist performances to 25 in his career while new captain John Tavares has set up three goals this season.

OVERTIME

1. Toronto has won seven of the past eight meetings with Montreal, including all four at home.

2. Canadiens G Carey Price boasts a 23-15-4 record with four shutouts and a 2.62 goals-against average in 42 career appearances (41 starts) versus the Maple Leafs.

3. Toronto G Michael Hutchinson will get the start on Saturday, Babcock announced

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Maple Leafs 2