The Habs were very physical to start the game. They said they were going to use their speed and physicality to win tonight, and were delivering on that promise early on. Nathan Beaulieu dropped the gloves in defense of Lars Eller who took a hit from Cedric Paquette. Beaulieu ended the fight by breaking Paquette's visor.
Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring after recovering a puck poked free the defensive zone by Tomas Plekanec. Gallagher carried the puck out of the Canadiens' zone and up the wing, roofing a beautiful shot over Ben Bishop's blocker to put the Habs up 1-0.