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TORONTO -- Alex Galchenyuk saw the 514 area code but didn’t recognize the number coming in on his new phone. So he let the first two calls go unanswered. Then he took the third one. It was Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien on a June day in South Florida, and it was an invitation to lunch. "It was just nice to see him and talk to me, he was saying how much he believed in me," Galchenyuk recalled Wednesday night after scoring the game-winner in a 3-1 decision over the Toronto Maple Leafs. "He asked me if I felt comfortable going to center, and I said, 'Yeah, of course.' It was a nice lunch and it was nice to meet him outside [the rink]. It was a different atmosphere than the locker room. And the steak was pretty good, too." It was a sizzling shot by Galchenyuk at 12 minutes, 2 seconds of the third period that broke a 1-1 tie Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre, the official opening act of life as a permanent NHL center for the 21-year-old looking very much at ease between wingers Lars Eller and Alexander Semin. If you believe in opening-night omens, it’s the start Galchenyuk needed after a 2014-15 season, which produced 20 goals and 46 points but failed overall to meet breakthrough expectations. One goal in 12 playoff games was rock bottom. And that’s when the Canadiens organization decided once and for all he needed to embrace a switch to his natural center position after playing wing early in his NHL career. His wicked shot Wednesday night reminded everyone that he has got a heck of a one, something he’s needed reminding himself. "That was definitely my goal coming in. I worked on my shot quite a bit in the summer," Galchenyuk said. "I think it’s one of my strengths and the last couple of years I didn’t use it as much. The main thing in this league is that you just have to get the shot off. Everything happens so quick." But it’s also his work defensively that stood out Wednesday night. He held his own in his own zone and that’s going to be the biggest adjustment, really, all the time spent down low. "I know offense is my strength, but I can’t just rely on that," he said. "You have to make sure you’re reliable offensively and defensively. There’s a lot of things I can still improve on but I thought I did pretty well."  If Galchenyuk flourishes at center this season, it opens up such a different opportunity for the Habs, who have moved center David Desharnais down to the third line in an attempt to give a goal-starved Montreal squad a top-nine offensive approach. Desharnais' unit with Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise had their moments, too, Wednesday night even if they didn’t score. In the end, the true difference-makers in Montreal’s opening-night victory were familiar names: captain Max Pacioretty with a pair of goals, P.K. Subban with three assists, and goalie Carey Price stopping 36 of 37 shots, including a few point-blank chances in the third period. "What hasn’t already been said about him?" said Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, who scored the home side’s lone goal. "He won the MVP last year for a reason. He’s a big-time player. He had a great game." The reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner just picked up where he left off last season when he ruled the world, looking so calm and confident in the Habs' net as the Leafs pressed for the equalizer in the third period. "When you do get your chances you've got to bury them," said Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, making his official Toronto debut. "Carey’s good, obviously; you guys know that. He made some huge saves. But he does it every night. They [the Habs] don’t even know over there that he made huge saves. That’s just another day’s work for him." The question is whether it matters whether it’s Price in net or any other NHL goalie this season when it comes to Toronto’s rebuilding lineup being able to finish scoring chances. Make no mistake, they had plenty of looks on this night. There are no style points in the standings, but the Leafs showed Wednesday night that they are absorbing Babcock’s system and the way he wants them to play: up-tempo, go, go, go, don’t sit back, no back-pedaling but rather push the pace. I can’t remember a Leafs team in the past few seasons that actually cycled the puck with as much effectiveness as Toronto did on this night. "He wants us playing in five-man units and using our skating and using our speed to turn pucks over and make plays and go from there," van Riemsdyk said. "I think it’s a fun style of hockey to play." Babcock saw signs of growth. "I thought when we started pushing we got carried away at times. But I thought we did lots of good things structurally. I thought we won a lot of battles," said the Leafs coach, lured to Toronto in the offseason by an eight-year, $50 million deal. "In saying all that, I’d like us to score better. You got to win games, that’s the bottom line." Wins and goals may both be hard to come by for the Leafs this season, but opening night showed promise as far as a system and work ethic being able to compensate for a lack of talent. In the end, the long-suffering Leafs fans who demonstrated total apathy for this team a season ago, they want to see effort and a plan. They got both on this night.
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