The Maple Leafs spent a large chunk of the off-season remaking the edges of their roster.
Grit and veteran leadership were added to a talented group desperate to change the narrative of past playoff failures.
Many of those new elements were on full display Wednesday night before Toronto's longest-serving player ensured his team raised the curtain on the NHL's abbreviated 56-game schedule in style.
Morgan Rielly scored at 3:24 of overtime as the Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 inside a fan-less Scotiabank Arena because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The defenceman took a feed from Toronto captain John Tavares on a 2-on-1 and beat Montreal goalie Carey Price to end a chaotic extra period where each teams had glorious chances to grab the bonus point.
``Those OTs, it really comes down to breaks,'' Rielly said. ``They had a breakaway moments prior to that, that was probably my fault.
with files from (The Canadian Press)