Buffalo, New York - The Buffalo Sabres started the 2021-22 NHL regular season with a bang, making easy work of one of last year’s Stanley Cup finalists, the Montreal Canadiens.

The Sabres blew out the Canadiens 5-1 on Thursday night to open their season with what they hope is a glimpse of better things to come in a brand-new season.

Buffalo finished the 2020-21 season with only 15 wins. That wouldn't be bad if it were football, but that’s less than half the number of the hockey games the Sabres lost.

And after finishing dead-last in four of the last eight seasons, the Sabres have nowhere to go but up.

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This game was a great start, manhandling a familiar foe from past hockey rivalries after unusually not playing against each other at all last year.

Though everything is still fresh, the Canadiens still haven’t won a game yet to start this season.

Zemgus Girgensons (27), a seventh-year center and one of Buffalo’s assistant captains this year, got his team started off in the right direction.

Girgensons himself was looking for a little personal redemption, getting his first in-game action after missing all of last season with a tough hamstring injury.

With the Sabres already up by one in the first period, Girgensons then added to the lead by scoring a goal in the period’s closing minutes.

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After his goal, the Canadiens did score their only goal, but Sabres never looked back as three more scores came in, one of which he assisted on.

The Sabres are currently undefeated, but though their season opener was spectacular, they're still just one game in.

The next few games for Buffalo are with teams they could very well hold their own against, especially if they can keep all the good momentum going.

While their top player Jack Eichel’s return from a serious back injury is still in limbo, the team will need to step it up if they want to avoid another less-than-stellar season.

On Saturday, the Sabres host the Coyotes while the Canadiens head to New York to take on the Rangers.