Recap: Canadiens race to first win, 6-1, over Red Wings

MONTREAL, Quebec --The Montreal Canadiens pulled away from the Detroit Red Wings for their first win of the season, 6-1, Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin gave Detroit the early 1-0 lead, but Montreal scored two goals in the first period, three in the second and an empty-netter in the third frame. The Red Wings dropped to 2-2-1 on the season, while the Canadiens moved to 1-5-0.

Detroit will have a quick turnaround, traveling to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday night. Montreal will begin a four-game road trip next Tuesday at Seattle.
Larkin got the Red Wings on the board first with a power-play goal at the 14:35 mark of the opening period. After winning the faceoff near the left dot, Larkin gathered the puck, delivered a hesitation move, then beat Montreal goalie Jake Allen in the lower left corner to make the score, 1-0. Moritz Seider recorded the assist, marking his fourth point of the season.

Montreal grabbed momentum by scoring two power-play goals in a 2:05 span late in the first period. At the 5:50 mark, Ben Chiarot tallied his first goal of the season after Detroit turned the puck over in Montreal's offensive zone. He received a cross-ice pass from Jonathan Drouin, and beat Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss from near the left faceoff circle.
With 3:45 remaining in the period, Montreal's Mike Hoffman fired a shot and found the back of the net from between the blue line and right faceoff circle. Detroit killed an ensuing penalty that was assigned to Filip Zadina, and the lively opening period ended with the Canadiens clinging to a 2-1 lead.
Montreal continued to be the aggressor in the early minutes of the second period, and extended its lead to 3-1 at the 16:43 mark after a deflected goal by Brett Kulak. The Canadiens produced a 4-on-2 rush after a line change, and Kulak's shot from the right side bounced off Marc Staal's leg and into the back of the net.
Mathieu Perreault's first goal of the season with 12:15 remaining in the period gave Montreal a commanding 4-1 lead. He gathered a bouncing puck near center ice, and fired his attacking left shot past Greiss.

Perreault scored again just over two minutes later (10:01), and Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill replaced Greiss with Alex Nedeljkovic in goal. Montreal took a 5-1 lead into the dressing room at the second intermission.
The first 13 minutes of the third period went scoreless, and Blashill pulled Nedeljkovic with his team trailing, 5-1. Perreault quickly extended Montreal's lead to 6-1 with an empty-netter, securing the natural hat trick.
Sunday's puck drop from the United Center in Chicago is set for 7 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Detroit, Red Wings Radio Network). The Blackhawks are 0-4-1 on the season.