MONTREAL -- Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber, Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli scored as Montreal defeated the Calgary Flames 4-2 in the Canadiens' home opener at Bell Centre on Thursday night.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jonathan Drouin had two assists apiece as the Canadiens (5-0-2) remained unbeaten in regulation time this season.
Sam Bennett ended Carey Price's shutout bid with 78 seconds left in the third period. Rasmus Andersson added a second power-play goal for Calgary with 22.7 seconds to play.
It was the first of nine meetings between the North Division teams. The Flames (2-3-1) will continue their five-game road trip with another matchup against Montreal on Saturday night.
The Canadiens looked fresh but a tad scattered at times after returning to game action for the first time since Saturday's 5-2 win in Vancouver. The Flames, coming off a 4-3 loss to Toronto on Tuesday, also had some early zip but an early Juuso Valimaki hooking call proved costly.
With the penalty winding down, Kotkaniemi found Corey Perry stationed by the side of the crease. Perry made a deft no-look backpass to Gallagher, who one-timed it in at 10:07.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2021.
