The Detroit Red Wings threw everything they had at the Montreal Canadiens in a 23-shot first period. Scoring just a single goal on Sam Montembeault, who wouldn’t surrender another, it wasn’t enough.
Ultimately losing to the wild-card Habs 4-1 on Tuesday, the Wings snapped their four-game point streak, which likely won’t be enough either. The Wings, who entered the game in ninth-place in the Eastern Conference, behind the eighth-place Habs, are now eight points back with five to play, the loss representing a nail in their collective coffin.
Game Recap
In sharp contrast, the Canadiens, who won their sixth-straight contest, are flying high. Granted, their overall game could use some work, as evidenced by the poor start, with the aforementioned 23 shots against being a season-high for a single period of work.
Thankfully for the Canadiens, they still had 40 minutes to redeem themselves. And they did not disappoint the Bell Centre faithful, who were already in good spirits upon receiving news that top-prospect Ivan Demidov had joined the team and signed an entry-level deal. Down 1-0 late in in the second (on Dylan Larkin’s first-period marker to open the scoring), Habs forward Cole Caufield tied it, tucking the puck past Wings goalie Cam Talbot, who made 17 saves on 19 shots faced, in a goalmouth scramble.
(Demidov did not dress in the contest.)
Canadiens forward Josh Anderson put the home side up for good midway through the third period. Moments after he missed an open net off a beautiful feed from Lane Hutson, who remains one point away from the team’s single-season scoring record for a defenseman, Anderson got a second chance at redemption himself. He made no mistake upon receiving another great pass from Christian Dvorak, who found the rugged forward unchecked at the side of Talbot’s net.
Anderson paid it forward late in the period, when he collected a loose puck in Montembeault’s crease, the Wings pressing with an extra attacker. He pushed it forward to Brendan Gallagher who shot it from his own end of the ice for the empty-net goal, to secure the win. Nick Suzuki added another empty-netter to bring an end to the scoring and the Wings’ playoff run for all intents and purposes. The win marked Montembeault’s career-high fifth straight.
The 36-34-7 Wings, who own the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL , next visit the reigning-champion Florida Panthers on Thursday. The 39-30-9 Canadiens visit the Ottawa Senators, who are now just three points up with the same amount of games played (78), on Friday in a must-win game , assuming they’re no longer satisfied with the second wild-card spot. To be clear, the Habs aren’t guaranteed to make it, but, now eight points up on the Wings, New York Rangers, and Columbus Blue Jackets, it would take divine intervention for them to miss out on their first berth since their 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
