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TORONTO — Michael Bunting scored twice as the Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Saturday night in the Toronto debuts for Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari.

The forwards were acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a blockbuster three-team trade late Friday — and were in the action just over 20 hours later.

“In terms of the two guys, they come as advertised in terms of their personality, character, and the way they fit in,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said after the win. “They are two veteran players who are very experienced and accomplished guys that can fit right in right away. The new guys fit in really well.

“That was great to see for sure. It is going to really, really help us. It is tremendous.”

O’Reilly, who helped the Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in 2019 and brings title pedigree to a team desperate to advance past the first round, received the start in his first game on his new home ice.

“For me, I am doing it for the player, but I am also doing it for our fans. I am sure they are excited for us to add a guy like him. They get a chance to acknowledge him and see him out of the gate,” Keefe said. “Like anything else, you give him a good moment. It is not just him. Even in the room, you get a good reaction from the rest of the team. They are excited for him.

“That was great. It was a tremendous shift, too. It was all good.”

And for O’Reilly, it is something he soon won’t forget.

“That start. Starting here was special. You feel the energy in this building,” he said. “There’s a reason it’s the Mecca of hockey. The energy that surrounds it. … It’s something you don’t get many other places.”

Pierre Engvall, William Nylander and David Kampf scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 29 saves. Auston Matthews and Rasmus Sandin each picked up two assists.

Josh Anderson scored 42 seconds into the second period for Montreal, which got 37 stops from Jake Allen.

Down 1-0 in the second period, Bunting took a pass from Matthews on a power play and scored his 17th before Engvall made it 2-1 when he fired a shot Allen could only get a piece of for his 12th.

Bunting added his second of the night with 1:40 left in the period off a Calle Jarnkrok feed that saw O’Reilly pick up an assist.

Nylander stretched the lead to 4-1 four minutes into the third with his team-leading 31st goal following some great work down low from Matthews.

Kampf rounded out the scoring late with his fifth of the season, and first in 28 games.

Dealt to the Leafs along with Acciari for four draft picks — including Toronto’s 2023 first-round selection — in a swap that included Minnesota for salary cap purposes, O’Reilly, who won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with St. Louis in 2019, started on a line between John Tavares and Mitchell Marner.

O’Reilly joins defenseman Mark Giordano as a former NHL captain in Toronto’s locker room alongside Tavares. Giordano was a longtime captain of the Calgary Flames.

“I don’t think you can ever have enough,” Tavares said of leadership. “Being the captain doesn’t mean you have all the answers. You need different people to lead in different ways.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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