Tomas Plekanec of Montreal fires a shot on Vesa Toskala during a 2007-08 game between Toronto and Montreal. Each team won four times in the season series last year. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The Toronto Maple Leafs take to the ice for their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, renewing their historic rivalry for the 2008-09 season (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 6:30 p.m. ET).

Toronto shocked many of their own fans as well as the Detroit Red Wings by topping last year's Stanley Cup champions 3-2 on Thursday, making Ron Wilson a winner in his coaching debut.

The Maple Leafs followed the coach's plan in the season opener, adhering to a defensive system while making the most of opportunities to go on the forecheck.

For the first time in 14 years, the Maple Leafs took to the ice without Mats Sundin on the roster. Sundin is contemplating his playing future in his native Sweden.

Toronto jettisoned several other veterans in an off-season of rebuilding and had nine faces in the lineup who weren't with the team last season, including four who were making their NHL debut.

The four rookies all played well, with Nikolai Kulemin scoring the winning goal and 18-year-old rookie Luke Schenn logging over 17 minutes of ice time.

John Mitchell saw time on the energy line, while Jonas Frogren, 28, looked calm and composed after years of playing in the Swedish Elite League.

Frogren was originally drafted in the eighth round, by Calgary in 1998.

"It feels unreal," Frogren told the Toronto Sun on Friday. "I think it will take a couple of days for it to sink in that I'm really here and actually playing in the NHL."

Returning starter Vesa Toskala fought off some early hiccups to make 35 saves. Pavel Kubina and Dominic Moore were the other goal scorers.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price also made 35 saves in his season debut, but the team ended up on the short end of a 2-1 shootout loss in Buffalo on Friday.

Robert Lang scored just over two minutes into the contest for his first as a Montreal Canadien, assisted by Andrei Markov and Tom Kostopoulos, but the visitors could not solve Sabres netminder Ryan Miller for the rest of the night.

Alex Kovalev was denied by the Buffalo goaltender in the third period and again in overtime, while Lang and captain Saku Koivu were unsuccessful in the shootout.

Defenceman Roman Hamrlik fired seven shots on Miller but came up empty.

"I think both goalies played unbelievable," said Lang. "Both sides had good chances, just one goal for each side, that's remarkable."

Chris Higgins and Georges Laraque did not play due to groin injuries, while Francis Bouillon is battling a knee injury.

While Lang scored, Alex Tanguay admitted to some nerves after his first game for Montreal. Tanguay played over 19 minutes, but didn't register a shot.

Tanguay, acquired from the Flames in June, is being counted on to produce about a point a game for the Canadiens, who many hockey observers believe can capture the Eastern Conference title.

Montreal and Toronto each won four games during the season series in 2007-08. Under the new league schedule, they will play six times this season.

While Toskala is expected to start for the Maple Leafs, there is a good chance Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Canadiens, who begin the season with four games in six nights.

Toronto returns to action with a matinee home game on Thanksgiving Monday against St. Louis. Montreal plays that evening in Philadelphia.

The Canadiens make their home debut Wednesday against Boston.