Montreal Canadiens played host to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night. The Canadiens had faced the Red Wings just 8 days ago and had their biggest win of the season. Clearly they were looking to have a repeat of the last time they hosted them. But a difficult start to the season has clearly rattled the Canadiens and their fans. A load of injuries has played part to their slow start. Most recently, their young star Cole Caufield was assigned down to their AHL team. Detroit was missing 2/3 of their top line because Tyler Bertuzzi is out due to his vaccination status and Dylan Larkin is out for personal reasons. Montreal looked to do better at home. Detroit looked for a little revenge.
First Period
Upon puck drop Montreal came out firing. Their pace was overwhelming and took Detroit by surprise. Within the first couple minutes Nick Suzuki was able to push one past Alex Nedeljkovic and get the Canadiens first goal of the night. The onslaught continued. Montreal appeared to just over power Detroit for the early goings of the game. Even after Jonathan Drouin of the Canadiens took a friendly fired shot to the head, they continued to keep the pressure up and forced Detroit to stay in their zone. Sloppy puck handling by Detroit allowed for a takeaway and a clean break away for Josh Anderson who closed the deal and made it a 2-0 lead for the Canadiens. Montreal opened the game showing pure desperation, and it was paying off.
Second Period
Coming back from the break, Detroit showed signs of better play. Slightly more aggressive on the forecheck and pinching harder with the defensemen. Even then the Canadiens appeared to control most of the play. Gaining several more dangerous chances early. Detroit looked to find some momentum during the first power play of the game. A second power play was earned during the first and had 26 seconds of 5 on 3. Even with the long time of having an extra man, the penalty killers shielded Jake Allen in net and only allowed one really good look. Towards the end of the period the Red Wings did pick up the pace and earned some decent looks. The score remained 2-0 in favor of the Canadiens at the end of the second.
Third Period
Detroit showed signs of desperation early in the third. Their up tempo play and cleaner puck movement lead to a few chances early. Allen did stand tall in net all night. Even with some harder checks it looked as though neither team could gain their footing. Time was running out for a Red Wings come back, and picking up their first penalty really hindered their attempts. Killing the penalty was big for them. Sadly they lost out on valuable time. With over 3:30 left, Blashill made the choice to pull his goalie. Brendan Gallagher sealed the deal by finding the empty net. They picked up their third win of the season with a 3-0 shutout.
Game Takeaways
Montreal came out with speed and determination. Clearly they seem to absolutely love playing against Detroit so far this season. Even being down a forward after Drouin left the arena for extra examination, every player seemed to step up and make the most of their extra time on the ice. Their control of the blue line, turnover creation, and clean passing really lead the way and allowed them to find the open man for their two goals. Their real saving grace was the special teams on the penalty kill who killed a half minute of 5 on 3 during back to back minors. Jake Allen had one of his marvelous nights in net that really made things easier on their defense securing his 2nd shutout in 4 games. Montreal now awaits the New York Islanders who come to town Thursday.
Detroit played real sloppy. After falling behind the eight ball they started to play desperate which lead to even more mistakes. Being down two of their top point getters who played the same line shifted things too much. It was clear from the get go that the line communication was just not there. On the bright side, they fought back like they have all season. Thy did have some bright moments in the game. Even without a goal. One reason this wasn’t a bigger difference was their netminder Nedeljkovic. Standing on his head multiple times, he saved 39 out of 41 shots. The Red Wings look to pick up their first win on their road trip as they head to face Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Follow our Twitter!
Check out our shop!