Game 48: Montreal Canadiens @ Detroit Red Wings
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Red Wings region: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Detroit Red Wings lost one more game after being swept in a back-to-back set by Montreal in December to go into the NHL’s holiday break on a three-game losing streak. No doubt having to field questions from friends and family about the state of the team, and seeing for himself that the franchise didn’t seem to be taking the step forward expected, general manager Steve Yzerman fired head coach Derek Lalonde before playing another game, hiring Todd McLellan to replace him.
Detroit lost its first game under the new coach on that same day, then proceeded to earn seven wins in a row. They took two points from each of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, and Columbus Blue Jackets in that time, teams they would need to pass to get back into the playoff chase.
At the same time, the Montreal Canadiens were facing a gauntlet of the league’s top teams in their own arenas, and going step-for-step with their division rival. The two teams rose up the board together and emerged from the opening week of 2025 right back in the thick of things.
The Red Wings were then set to embark on a road trip facing a few of the same teams Montreal battled on its long holiday journey. They replicated the Habs’ feat of starting with a win in Sunrise, Florida, but that’s where the pattern ended. They lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning the next game and lost by three goals to the Dallas Stars a day later. Heading back to the Eastern time zone to cap off the trip, they fell in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. Following their seven-game run, they’ve now lost four of their last five games. In this tight Eastern Conference race, that kind of record will see a team lose ground in a hurry, and they currently sit five points back of a playoff position.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Red Wings |
|---|---|---|
| 24-19-4 | Record | 21-21-5 |
| 48.6% (24th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 48.2% (26th) |
| 3.04 (13th) | Goals per game | 2.79 (25th) |
| 3.30 (26th) | Goals against per game | 3.23 (25th) |
| 20.8% (18th) | PP% | 28.4% (2nd) |
| 81.7% (9th) | PK% | 68.1% (31st) |
| 2-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-2-0 |
As was the case with another Atlantic Division team, the Boston Bruins, this season, it appears that the boost from hiring a new coach was a short-lived phenomenon. Replacing the man behind the bench did nothing to fix some roster flaws on both teams, and the they have now returned to their previous level of performance.
In Detroit’s case, the bump has largely been felt on the power play. They hadn’t scored a goal on the man advantage in either game versus Montreal from December 20 to 21, part of a 10-game stretch in which they scored just twice while a man up and allowing two short-handed goals. After Christmas, they scored on the power-play in eight consecutive games, and had multiple goals on the man advantage in five of those contests. Their power play has had multiple goalless games during this 1-3-1 stretch, but the one win in Florida saw it convert on three occasions
The Canadiens will try copy the game plan the Flyers employed on Tuesday: don’t give Detroit any opportunities to play at five-on-four at all. Montreal almost fell too far behind the Lightning on Tuesday with its lack of discipline, forced to kill off three minor penalties in the opening period and still trailing 2-0 early in the second. Montreal has the second-worst penalty differential in the NHL, getting called for 21 more than have been drawn, and its penalty-kill units have been on the ice for about 18 more minutes than the next-busiest team. Those are difficult, draining shifts, and with the schedule compressed to allow a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, that’s going to start taking its toll if the Canadiens can’t play a more disciplined game.
Patrick Kane has been one of the leaders for Detroit in McLellan’s brief tenure. He has recorded 16 points in 13 game. Ten of those points have come on the power play, tied with Lucas Raymond for the most. At even strength, Kane has earned six points and is a -2 in that time. The numbers of the future Hall-of-Famer serve as enough of a lesson for how the Habs need to approach tonight’s road game.
