MTL@TOR: A determined bunch

TORONTO - When you compete the way the Canadiens did on Wednesday night, walking away with one point instead of two is tough to swallow.

Nevertheless, Claude Julien's squad gave a powerhouse Toronto Maple Leafs lineup everything it could handle in a 3-2 overtime loss at Scotiabank Arena.
It wasn't a perfect start to the 2018-19 season, but there were still plenty of positives to build on.
That really was the consensus inside the Canadiens' locker room after coming up just short against their Atlantic Division rivals.
"If we keep playing like that with that type of effort, I think we'll get rewarded more often than not," said goaltender Carey Price, who turned aside 23 of 26 shots against and made several highlight-reel saves along the way. "Just our overall work ethic. We didn't get discouraged at any point in the game. We kept pounding away. I thought it was a great effort."

It certainly was, with Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw lighting the lamp behind Maple Leafs starter Frederik Andersen during the contest.
While Lehkonen's goal proved to be the first goal of the brand new season, Shaw's tally was the perfect way to mark his return to the Canadiens' lineup after recovering from offseason knee surgery and a concussion.
"We're a fast team, a hard-working team. We knew we needed to outwork them, and there were points in the game where we felt we were the dominant team," mentioned Shaw, who tied things up 2-2 late in the second period with a power play strike that gave the Habs good momentum heading into the final frame. "We competed. We worked hard. We played the right way and gave ourselves a chance to win."

Young gun Jesperi Kotkaniemi collected his first career point on Shaw's goal, making his NHL debut all the more special.
"It was fun," shared Kotkaniemi. "I enjoyed the moment."
The 18-year-old centerman, who logged 15:05 of ice time and produced two shots on goal, not only tied Claude Lemieux as the second-youngest player to ever skate for the Canadiens, but also become the first player in NHL history born in the 2000s to skate in a regular season game, according to the League's Public Relations Department.
For his part, Max Domi registered his name on the scoresheet in his Habs debut with a pair of helpers.
"We came out of the gates flying," said Domi. "Everyone was ready to go and we were eager for the puck to drop. We had all four lines going. It's definitely a lot to build on."

Julien offers up his assessment
Like his players, the veteran bench boss was pleased with the way the group as a whole went about their business in Toronto.
Bringing that same compete level game after game is the real challenge, of course.
"I'm disappointed in the loss. We always feel like we could've and should've won the game. But, I don't think I'm disappointed with the effort we put out," offered Julien. "It's important for us to keep giving those types of efforts and keep on improving in certain areas where we didn't do as well. There's no doubt, if we compete the way we did, we're going to give ourselves a chance every night."

Up next, the Canadiens will travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon. They'll square off against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night to close out their two-game road trip.