Nylander breaks 3rd-period tie, Leafs beat Canadiens 2-1

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander broke a tie at 1:06 of the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Wednesday night in the opener for both teams. In a rematch of Montreal’s seven-game victory in the first round of the playoffs last season, Toronto won in front of 18,493 masked and fully vaccinated fans in Scotiabank Arena’s first regular-season crowd since March 10, 2020. Jack Campbell made 31 saves for Toronto, allowing only Jonathan Drouin’s first-period goal. Pierre Engvall tied it on a power play midway through the second. Toronto star Auston Matthews, the NHL leader with 41 goals in 52 games last season, sat out because of a wrist injury that hasn’t fully healed from surgery.