Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings
· National Hockey League
Canadiens score three first-period goals to spoil Red Wings' season opener, 5-1
Zachary Bolduc, Oliver Kapanen, Alexandre Carrier and Juraj Slafkovsky also scored for the Canadiens, who bounced back from a 5-2, season-opening loss at Toronto on Wednesday night.
Patrick Gallagher and Nick Suzuki had two assists apiece, while Jakub Dobes made 30 saves.
Dylan Larkin scored on a first-period power play for the Red Wings.
Goaltender John Gibson, who was acquired from Anaheim in an offseason trade, had an inauspicious Detroit debut. He was pulled with 2:48 remaining in the second period after allowing Slafkovsky's power-play goal off a rebound. Gibson made just eight saves on 13 shots before he was replaced by Cam Talbot.
Matheson scored with 6.7 seconds left in the first period to give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead. He lifted a shot from the left side that eluded Gibson's catching glove.
The Canadiens took advantage of Red Wings defensive breakdowns to score their first two goals.
Bolduc, who also had a goal at Toronto, converted on a breakaway. Kapanen scored in front off a pass from Alex Newhook on a two-on-one break to give Montreal a 2-1 lead.
Carrier scored on a slap shot from the point at 5:19 of the second period. Slafkovsky's goal off a rebound gave the Canadiens a 5-1 advantage.
Red Wings: Host Toronto on Saturday night.
Regular Season SeriesMTL leads series 1-0
Scoring Summary
 |
Goal | 1st Period 3:50 | Dylan Larkin Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Patrick Kane (1), Moritz Seider (1) |
 |
Goal | 1st Period 10:14 | Zachary Bolduc Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Brendan Gallagher (2), Mike Matheson (1) |
|
Goal | 1st Period 12:43 | Oliver Kapanen Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Alex Newhook (1), Ivan Demidov (1) |
|
Goal | 1st Period 19:53 | Mike Matheson Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Nick Suzuki (1), Noah Dobson (1) |
|
Goal | 2nd Period 5:19 | Alexandre Carrier Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Arber Xhekaj (1), Brendan Gallagher (3) |
|
Goal | 2nd Period 17:12 | Juraj Slafkovský Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Cole Caufield (1), Nick Suzuki (2) |
Statistics
 MTL |
 DET |
|
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Blocked Shots | 13 |
| 25 | Hits | 34 |
| 3 | Takeaways | 4 |
| 17 | Shots | 31 |
| 1 | Power Play Goals | 1 |
| 3 | Power Play Opportunities | 4 |
| 33.3 | Power Play Percentage | 25.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 17 | Faceoffs Won | 23 |
| 42.5 | Faceoff Win Percent | 57.5 |
| 14 | Giveaways | 18 |
| 4 | Total Penalties | 3 |
| 8 | Penalty Minutes | 6 |
Detroit Red Wings Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Kane, RW | Out | Oct 21 |
| Shai Buium, D | Injured Reserve | Oct 2 |
| Nate Danielson, C | Injured Reserve | Oct 2 |
Montreal Canadiens Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Kaiden Guhle, D | Injured Reserve | Oct 21 |
| Kirby Dach, C | Out | Oct 21 |
| Patrik Laine, RW | Day-To-Day | Oct 21 |
| David Reinbacher, D | Out | Sep 26 |
