Hockey's most decorated franchise prevailed as the NHL paid a rare visit to Salmon River, N.S., better known as Hockeyville.

After spending most of Monday visiting schools and seniors' homes in the central Nova Scotian village, the Montreal Canadiens thumped the Ottawa Senators 7-3 before a crowd of 2,000 at the Colchester Legion Stadium in Truro.

Jonathan Ferland, left, reaches in as Andrej Meszaros handles the puck.
(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Hall of Famer Yvon Cournoyer and former Canadiens player and general manager Réjean Houle also brought the Stanley Cup, which they escorted to the rink on the back of a fire truck. 

"This is a big deal, no doubt about it," said 89-year-old Web Deuville, whose name adorns the unique rink he built for Salmon River residents 48 years ago — but one which has almost no seats, prompting the NHLers to play in nearby Truro. 

"It's a lot more than I ever expected."

Chris Higgins and Guillaume Latendresse had two goals apiece for the Canadiens, who earned their first win in five pre-season games.

Andrei Kostitsyn, Jonathan Ferland and Kyle Chipchura also scored.

Jason Spezza tallied twice in a losing cause as the Senators fell to 3-3 in exhibition play.

"It's fun for the town and fun for us," said Senators forward Dany Heatley, who had the other goal.

Salmon River was proclaimed Hockeyville on June 11, winning out over 450 other Canadian communities.

The village not only won the right to host an NHL exhibition game, but received $50,000 in rink upgrades and $10,000 worth of hockey equipment. 

"I think this is a great experience for our players," Senators head coach Bryan Murray said. "This is where we all come from as players — smaller towns and smaller rinks and sharing our experiences with people."

"I have always believed that the passion people have for hockey knows no bounds," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, also on hand with NHL Players' Association executive director Ted Saskin.

"And I think we've witnessed even beyond that description today. This is just truly remarkable."

With files from the Canadian Press