Alex DeBrincat scored his first NHL goal and set up one for Artem Anisimov as the Chicago Blackhawks spoiled the Montreal Canadiens‘ home opener with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night.
Brandon Saad also scored for Chicago (3-0-1), which was coming off an overtime loss Monday night in Toronto.
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Tomas Plekanec scored for Montreal (1-3-0), which has lost three in a row and scored only four goals in as many games.
The Canadiens went 0 for 5 on the power play and are now 0 for 14 for the season.
Montreal outshot the Blackhawks 42-25.
The Canadiens had a 16-7 shot advantage in the opening period but Chicago emerged with a 2-1 lead.
Plekanec picked off a Ryan Hartman pass in the Blackhawks zone, wheeled and scored on a wrist shot inside the near post 1:15 into the game.
Montreal native and Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford was named the game’s first star after turning aside multiple Habs’ chances in the final frame. Crawford has an 8-0-2 career record versus the Canadiens.
The Montreal Canadiens (1-3-0) get set to host the NHL’s Atlantic Division leading Toronto Maple Leafs (3-0-0) Saturday night, puck drop is at 7:08 p.m. at the Bell Centre.
— with files from The Canadian Press