NHL

Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings

· National Hockey League
Final
5 - 1

Canadiens score three first-period goals to spoil Red Wings' season opener, 5-1

Juraj Slafkovsky tallies goal for Montreal Canadiens on the power play

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.

Up next Canadiens: Visit Chicago on Saturday night.

Red Wings: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

Regular Season Series

MTL 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

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/mtl.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMTL https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET
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 Detroit Red Wings Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Patrik Laine, RW Out Oct 25

Game Information

Little Caesars Arena

Location: Detroit, MI
Attendance: 19,515 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Montreal 10 3 22 2
Boston 10 7 20 0
Tampa Bay 8 5 18 2
Detroit 9 6 18 0
Toronto 8 6 17 1
Ottawa 7 5 17 3
Florida 7 7 15 1
Buffalo 5 6 14 4
Full Standings