The 13-15-and-4 Detroit Red Wings face the 13-16-and-3 Montreal Canadiens tonight at the Bell Centre (FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit Extra/NHL Network/TVA Sports/Sportsnet East/City TV/97.1 FM). Detroit sits 1 point ahead of the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division standings after the Red Wings’ 4-3 loss to Montreal last night in Detroit.
Neither team will hold a morning skate today, but Priyanta Emrith reports that Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis is scheduled to speak with the media at 5:40 PM, which means that coach Derek Lalonde will address the media this afternoon as well.
It should be noted that this game is an NHL Network game for out-of-market fans, which means that if you live in the U.S. and do not get FanDuel Sports Net Detroit Extra, you’re going to have to have access to the NHL Network to watch the game.
Field Level Media posted a very good preview of tonight’s game…
After notching the game-winner at Detroit on Friday, [Patrik] Laine looks to stay hot and help the host Canadiens sweep a back-to-back set against the Red Wings on Saturday night.
Laine, acquired by the Canadiens from the Columbus Blue Jackets in an August trade, missed Montreal’s first 24 games due to a knee injury. However, in eight games since making his Canadiens debut Dec. 3, he has totaled seven goals — remarkably, all on the power play.
In fact, all of Montreal’s power-play goals, in 25 chances since Dec. 3, have been scored by Laine. His most recent goal came with 7:58 left in regulation on Friday and gave the Canadiens a 4-3 lead. That margin stood, and Montreal has now posted back-to-back victories following a 1-3-0 stretch.
“Him scoring goals and helping the team win on the power play is big,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “It’s a big part of when your special teams are running good.”
The Canadiens, who are amid a 6-3-1 stretch at home, earned just their fourth road win of the season, tied for second fewest in the NHL.
“A really good one for us, and turn the page for (Saturday),” Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle said.
Laine, who has scored four goals in the past two contests, has 11 goals (two on the power play) plus eight assists in 21 career games vs. the Reds Wings.
Detroit enters the back end of the home-and-home amid a 3-5-2 stretch.
The AP posted a set of stats regarding tonight’s game, too…
Montreal is 13-16-3 overall and 5-3-0 against the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens have gone 5-1-2 in games decided by a single goal.
Detroit has gone 13-15-4 overall with a 3-5-1 record in Atlantic Division play. The Red Wings are 3-4-2 when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent.
The matchup Saturday is the second time these teams square off this season. The Canadiens won 4-3 in the last matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cole Caufield has 17 goals and 13 assists for the Canadiens. Patrik Laine has seven goals and one assist over the last 10 games.
Alex DeBrincat has 13 goals and 12 assists for the Red Wings. Lucas Raymond has scored seven goals and added four assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Canadiens: 5-5-0, averaging 2.9 goals, five assists, 4.6 penalties and 10.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
Red Wings: 3-5-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.1 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game.
The Canadiens’ website posted a game preview, too…
TEAM COMPARISONS
Patrik Laine was the difference in a 4-3 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Friday. While the 26-year-old Finn collected his seventh tally of the season, Jake Evans and Emil Heineman also enjoyed successful outings. Both notched a goal and an assist, and Evans did so in his 300th career NHL game. Solid team efforts are what the Canadiens will need to continue to move forward and build the consistency they’ve been searching for since the start of the season. They’ll be looking to add their fifth win on home ice in December tonight, which will also be the Club’s last game of 2024 at the Bell Centre.
Even though Detroit is coming into town with a loss, the Red Wings did overcome 1-0 and 2-1 deficits through 40 minutes of play to grab a 3-2 advantage 1:40 into the third period. Focusing on the positives is key but being mindful of the negatives is also important as Derek Lalonde’s troops failed to hold on to their lead and convert on four power plays that could have made the difference as it did for the Canadiens. Prior to Friday’s game, the Red Wings had won three of their last four contests, so they’ll be looking to bounce back quickly and, like the Habs, continue to find ways to win consistently.
As the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton noted, the Red Wings are well aware of the importance of tonight’s game…
Coach Derek Lalonde spoke to the imperative to improve on yesterday’s performance this evening, when the Red Wings will play the Canadiens again in the second leg of a back-to-back, this time at the Belle Centre: “We have two games left [before a three-day league-wide break for Christmas]. We still won two of our last three. We have a chance to get some momentum going on the break, but we have to be better tomorrow. I can see why they’re a really good team at home. Their bottom six is a really, really good bottom six. And you can see when they dictate some match-ups, they’re a really good team. We’re gonna have to be better tomorrow. We’re gonna have to bring our best.”
Detroit Hockey Now’s Tim Robinson also wrote a game preview from Detroit’s perspective, noting that the Red Wings are hanging onto hope as they continue to attempt to “gain traction” this season:
“I think both goalies have been out, so there hasn’t been a sharpness there from either of those guys,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Hopefully we can get them into rhythm.”
There’s that word again: hope. Teams that are out of sorts use that word a lot.
The Red Wings hope to get things going tonight.
They hope the upper-body injury to Simon Edvinsson is well on its way out, and he returns after Christmas. They hope the Christmas break will give them a chance to recharge as a team.
Fans are hoping the Wings can still make the postseason.
There’s a lot at stake in the next few weeks with the team competing not only for this season, but for contracts next season. That applies to every free-agent-to-be in the locker room and the coaching staff.
Honestly, every player on the roster has a lot riding on the next stretch of pre-Christmas and post-Christmas games, because the team may make alterations to the roster and coaching staff if it continues to struggle through what’s been a difficult season thus far.
MLive’s Ansar Khan believes that the Wings are going back to Alex Lyon tonight in his game preview…
The Red Wings need to be sharper on a power play that failed to convert in four chances Friday and is 2 for 21 in the past eight games.
They also need sharper goaltending and tighter defensive play after allowing four goals in each of their past two games and 19 goals in their past five games.
Alex Lyon is expected to start. Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 33 shots Friday, just his second appearance after two stints on the injured list since Dec. 1 due to a lower-body injury.
Update: While I was writing this, DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted his game preview:
“We’ve just got to capitalize on our chances [on Saturday], play with a little more intensity and minimize our mistakes,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “They get a little bit off the rush, but you look at the goals they score and there were just some key breakdowns.
“A lot of it we talk about—breaking the puck out well, coming back to the house and stopping, puck management. We clean those things up and play with a little more intensity…we get to play those guys again [on Saturday night]. That’s the best part about this is the quick turnaround.”
Patrick Kane’s fifth goal of the season got the Red Wings on the board in the first period on Friday, stretching the 35-year-old forward’s point streak to three consecutive games. During his current streak, Kane has collected four points on two goals and two assists. On the season, Kane has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 27 games.
“Obviously, exciting finish,” Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said about Kane’s goal on Friday. “Obviously, they had some looks. Trying to get them out in some certain situations, provide some offense. Unfortunately, the tying goal found them again. I don’t want that group to get in a trading goals scenario because you’re going to have up-and-down play.”
Joe Veleno scored Detroit’s second goal on Friday, tipping in Jeff Petry’s shot in the final minute of the second period. According to Larkin, those are the greasy goals that the Red Wings need more of to pocket two points in Montreal.
“[On Saturday night] we need to create bounces for ourselves,” Larkin said. “That’s getting bodies to the net, like these guys (motions to Michael Rasmussen) with Joe and Petey. Just simple hockey and creating good bounces for yourself.”
Here are tonight’s game notes in PDF form:
