The Detroit Red Wings host the Montreal Canadiens tonight (7 PM EDT start on FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit/TSN2/RDS/97.1 FM) and head to Montreal tomorrow to take part in an old-fashioned home-and-home series against an opponent that believes it’s on the rise.
Montreal stands at 12-16-and-3, but they’ve split their past 4 games, and they smacked the Sabres 6-1 on Tuesday thanks to a Patrik Laine hat trick.
Montreal also sits only 3 points behind Detroit in the Atlantic Division standings, so if they split the series via a victory and an OT or shootout loss, they’ll tie the 13-14-and-4 Wings’ for 5th in the Atlantic.
Field Level Media posted a Wings-Habs preview which summarizes the Habs’ state of mind as Laine surges (and the Habs acquired defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Nashville on Thursday):
The Canadiens, who are 4-3-0 in their last seven games, are coming off Tuesday’s 6-1 home victory over Buffalo behind Patrik Laine’s three power-play goals. Laine has six goals in seven games since recovering from a knee injury.
Laine was acquired from Columbus during the offseason. He appeared in just 18 games last season due to a broken clavicle and a six-month stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
“Obviously, it’s nice to have. Any time you have a threat, a weapon, especially on the power play, that just makes you a lot more deadly,” forward Josh Anderson told the Montreal Gazette. “It’s nice. Special teams are so important these days. It has won games. It obviously gave us a huge boost (Tuesday).”
With Laine and Cole Caufield (17 goals), the Canadiens have a formidable scoring duo on the power play.
“We have more weapons with Patty. It’s about finding a way to have predictability for us and unpredictability for the other team,” coach Martin St-Louis said. “They can move around, change spots sometimes, because the opponent has to respect both of them. We’re learning how to play together on the power play and how we can maximize everybody’s strengths.”
The Hockey News’s Karine Hains posted a game preview with stats and historical context…
In their last 10 matches, the Wings have got a 4-4-2 record while the Canadiens are 5-5. Both outfits have played the same number of games, but Detroit has got 30 points, while Montreal has only got 27. Detroit is therefore 13th in the conference while Montreal is 15th, needless to say, they are both out of the playoffs picture as things stand.
The Canadiens have a 294-209-96-9 record in 608 games played against the Michigan side, and they’ve only won three of the last 10 duels. Keep an eye on Brendan Gallagher who’s the team’s most productive forward against the wings with 17 goals and 11 assists in 33 games. He’s followed by Suzuki who has 12 points in 15 games and veteran blueliner David Savard who has 12 points as well but in 38 games.
As for the hosts, Patrick Kane leads the way against the Canadiens with 21 points in 24 games, followed by Dylan Larkin with 19 points in 30 games and Alex DeBrincat wraps up the top three with 17 points in 15 games.
In net, Martin St-Louis has already confirmed that Samuel Montembeault would be starting an eight consecutive game and added that he had not made a decision for Saturday night’s game. He’s played Detroit three times so far and has a 1-0-2 record with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
And MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article summarizing the Wings’ outlook as the team hopes to earn its 3rd straight win:
Cam Talbot (lower-body injury) apparently has been cleared to play, since Ville Husso was reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday. It’s uncertain whether Talbot or Alex Lyon will start.
Lucas Raymond has 11 goals in the past 13 games. Patrick Kane has a goal and two assists in the past two games after a career-long nine-game points drought. J.T. Compher scored his first goal in 22 games on Wednesday.
Montreal’s Patrik Laine is coming off a hat trick in a 6-1 victory over Buffalo Tuesday. All three goals were one-timers from the left faceoff circle. He has six goals in seven games this season.
The Red Wings are 7-0-2 in their past nine against Montreal and seven of the past nine games between the clubs have been decided in overtime or a shootout, including all four last season.
The teams meet again Saturday at the Bell Centre.
You can also read tonight’s game notes here:
