Let’s put a couple caveats to this column all at the top.



Yes, the Maple Leafs won their season opener. Yes, Auston Matthews (twice) and John Tavares scored pretty, laser-beam goals to get them that win. And, perhaps most encouragingly, Frederik Andersen was excellent in goal — which hasn’t been the case early in seasons in the past.



But by the beard of Zeus was this an ugly two points to start the year. I took one look at the Habs’ lineup this morning and, like a lot of people, couldn’t believe how stark the talent gap was between these two rosters.



A team running out Danault-Kotkaniemi-Domi down the middle and with a no-name D core should have been heavily outmatched against Tavares-Matthews-Kadri and company. They should have been hemmed in their zone and forced to try and win thanks to their star goaltender.



But Montreal was, by far, the better team in this game at even strength. The Leafs finished at 40.8-per-cent...