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Less than 24 hours after winning their third game in a row for the second time this month, the Montreal Canadiens travel to the Motor City for a game this evening against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Canadiens (11-12-3) faced off against the Ottawa Senators last night and started the game a little shakily. Just over four minutes into the game, while short-handed, Senators forward Mark Stone intercepted an Alex Galchenyuk pass and sprung loose before beating Carey Price upstairs for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.
The Habs battled back, and just under three minutes into the middle frame, forward Jonathan Drouin took a beautiful pass from blue-liner Karl Alzner and got a breakaway, but was hooked. On the penalty shot, he made no mistake and squeaked it through the five-hole uto tie the game up at one apiece. It was Montreal's first penalty-shot goal since current Flyer Dale Weise lit the lamp back on November 13, 2014 against the Boston Bruins.
A couple of minutes later, Andrew Shaw found a pinching Phillip Danault for his fourth goal of the season, and what was the eventual game-winner as the Habs took it 2-1, backed also by Price's 27 saves. Since his return from injury, the All-star has allowed only two goals on 103 shots.
With the win, Montreal has pulled within one point of the Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division.
Detroit (10-10-5) has been playing some up-and-down hockey this season, going winless in their last five games (0-2-3) and having not won since November 17 versus Buffalo. Their home record is 4-4-4, and in their last game, although they opened the scoring, they were beaten by the Los Angeles Kings 4-1.
Forward Dylan Larkin leads the team with 21 points, while teammate Anthony Mantha has the team lead in goals with 11.
The Wings and Habs will be playing a home-and-home series against each other, with Detroit coming to visit the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
Last season, Montreal played Detroit five times, going 3-1-1 in the process. Price played three of the games, winning two, while counterparts Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek each played a couple of games, with rookie goaltender Jared Coreau getting the other, and earning a shutout.
Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber will miss his sixth straight contest, and Drouin, who's scored in back-to-back games, is out tonight. Daniel Carr was called up from the Laval Rocket to replace him for the game.
Puck drop at the Little Ceasars Arena is at 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST.
How to watch
In the Canadiens region: TSN2, TSNGO (English), RDS (French)
In the Red Wings region: FS-D
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
---|---|---|
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
Max Pacioretty | Phillip Danault | Andrew Shaw |
Charles Hudon | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
Alex Galchenyuk | Jacob de la Rose | Paul Byron |
Nicolas Deslauriers | Byron Froese | Daniel Carr |
Defencemen
Left Defence | Right Defence |
---|---|
Left Defence | Right Defence |
Karl Alzner | Jeff Petry |
Joe Morrow | Jordie Benn |
Jakub Jerabek | David Schlemko |
Goaltenders
Goaltenders |
---|
Goaltenders |
Carey Price |
Antti Niemi |
Scratched: Victor Mete, Brandon Davidson
Injuries: Ales Hemsky (concussion-like symptoms), Al Montoya (concussion), Nikita Scherbak (lower body), Artturi Lehkonen (lower body), Shea Weber (lower body), Jonathan Drouin (lower body)
Detroit Red Wings projected lineup
Forwards
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
---|---|---|
Left Wing | Centre | Right Wing |
Gustav Nyquist | Henrik Zetterberg | Andreas Athanasiou |
Tomas Tatar | Dylan Larkin | Anthony Mantha |
Darren Helm | Frans Nielsen | Justin Abdelkader |
Scott Wilson | Luke Glendening | David Booth |
Defencemen
Left Defence | Right Defence |
---|---|
Left Defence | Right Defence |
Danny DeKeyser | Mike Green |
Jonathan Ericsson | Nick Jensen |
Niklas Kronwall | Xavier Ouellet |
Goaltenders
Goaltenders |
---|
Goaltenders |
Jimmy Howard |
Petr Mrazek |