The Alouettes' defence accounted for 14 points in the first quarter to pace Montreal to an easy 33-9 win over the Eskimos at Percival Molson Stadium.
A minute into the first quarter, Kevin Johnson recovered a fumble by Eskimos quarterback Jason Maas and ran 44 yards for a touchdown.
The Alouettes made it 14-0 when rush end Anwar Stewart intercepted a Maas pass and returned it for a touchdown.
Montreal Alouettes Thyron Anderson is stopped by the Edmonton Eskimos Darrel Crutchfield and Donny Brady during the first quarter Saturday. (CP/Andre Pichette)
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"If you take out those two turnovers for touchdowns, it's a different game," said Maas. "But you have to give them credit for making plays.
"It was a bad read by me on the first one and on the second one, (Stewart) just jumped up in the air and snagged it. If it gets through, it's a nine or 10 yards gain, but he made an outstanding play."
In addition to putting points on the board, Montreal's defence also did a fine job stifling the Eskimos' attack. Montreal held star running back Mike Pringle to six yards on five carries. The Eskimos only rushed for 27 yards in the game.
Montreal also kept the pressure on Maas.
"We live and die by the blitz," said Johnson. "We're aggressive and we took the fight to them."
Maas, who replaced the NFL-bound Ricky Ray as the Eskimos' starting quarterback, struggled in his season debut. He completed 19-of-38 passes for 165 yards. He also ran for 20 yards on eight carries.
Edmonton coach Tom Higgins says he never considered taking Maas out of the game.
"He needs the opportunity to experience the speed of this game and the only way he'll get back to the level he has been at is to play," said Higgins.
"That was a dynamic and dominant defence that went after us."
The Eskimos' only touchdown came on a one-yard Maas plunge into the end zone in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.
Montreal scored the final 10 points of the game. Matt Kellett kicked a 25-yard field goal at 5:53 of the fourth, and Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to rookie O'Neil Wilson less than five minutes later.
"It went the way I dreamed it," said Wilson, when asked about his first CFL touchdown. "It's my first game and I just wanted to make something happen.
"It took a little time, but I was really excited."
Calvillo also connected with Jeremaine Copeland for a score in the second quarter.
Calvillo completed 18 of his 33 pass attempts for 229 yards. Ben Cahoon led the Alouettes with seven catches for 59 yards. Eric LaPointe led Montreal with 70 rushing yards.
