Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings
How to watch
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Red Wings region: Bally Sports Detroit X
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS Direct, TSN+
Coming away with a loss at the end of the night is nothing new for the Montreal Canadiens; they’ve done that 47 times so far this year. But in the last few months those results haven’t been from a lack of effort. The team, such as it is with a long list of members on the injured list, has been making opponents play a quality game to get their victory.
The Carolina Hurricanes learned that lesson from a match versus Montreal in early March that required a shootout. The Hurricanes were more prepared for Saturday’s game in Montreal, giving the Habs little breathing room all night long as they allowed the home team just 14 shots on target and handed them a fifth shutout loss of the season.
With that performance behind them, the Canadiens prepare to start the final two weeks of the regular season. It begins with the last game of the season series with the Detroit Red Wings.
Tale of the Tape
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| Canadiens | Statistics | Red Wings |
|---|---|---|
| 30-41-6 | Record | 34-33-9 |
| 43.4% (30th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 44.2% (28th) |
| 2.78 (26th) | Goals per game | 2.93 (22nd) |
| 3.66 (22nd) | Goals against per game | 3.28 (21st) |
| 17.1% (28th) | PP% | 21.2% (17th) |
| 73.0% (30th) | PK% | 78.5% (18th) |
| 1-1-1 | H2H Record | 2-0-1 |
Many expected Detroit to be challenging for a playoff spot at this point in the season after the breakout performances from several of their young players a year ago. Instead they actually rank third among a three-team group that includes the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, a group that has teams several years into a rebuild process but still appear to be a tier behind the true playoff contenders.
It was a drop in play as the season hit the quarter pole that ended Detroit’s post-season hopes. On February 23 they won for the seventh time in eight matches, and at that time were tied with the Florida Panthers for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, holding three games in hand. Those extra chances at earning two points were all squandered, as the Red Wings earned just seven points in their next 15 games.
Back-to-back losses to the Senators at the start of that stretch seemed to be what convinced Steve Yzerman to become a seller at the trade deadline. He shipped out Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks, and Tyler Bertuzzi, his second-leading scorer last season, to the Boston Bruins, receiving a haul of picks that will help the team in the future.
Outside of Dylan Larkin, few of the Red Wings’ players are matching the previous season’s results that inspired some hope in this year’s group. Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond haven’t had bad seasons by any stretch – they would rank second and third on Montreal’s injury-riddled roster at least – but they’re not going to reach the totals from their rookie seasons. Fellow first-rounders Michael Rasmussen and Filip Zadina haven’t become the offensive players the club expected when they were taken with high picks in recent years.
Ranking 22nd in goals scored and 21st in goals allowed, it’s hard to argue that they don’t sit right where they belong in the standings. Both areas will need to be addressed in the off-season to give the team a chance to be competitive in 2023-24, especially with the other teams in the bottom half of the division – including Montreal – sure to be better.
