Having played themselves into a wild card battle that figures to last the remainder of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens had a big game on Thursday night. They were in Michigan to face the Detroit Red Wings, one of the teams behind them in the race, who should have been expected to come out very hungry for two points. They did exactly that, while the Habs had arguably their worst game since the beginning of December, and Detroit climbed a little closer in the standings with a 4-2 win.
This game should be a reality check for the Habs. As good as they’ve been playing of late, they learned that being in a playoff race means the teams you’re competing with are bound to bring a little extra to every game.
Mike Matheson WHERE ARE YOU GOING pic.twitter.com/NqPhpLZERs
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) January 24, 2025
For large portions of this game, the Habs looked like they were sleepwalking. Clearing their zone was an arduous task that involved countless failed passes, and was more often completed with a desperate flip of the puck into neutral ice than anything else. Detroit had far more urgency through the full 60 minutes, and they were the only team that seemed to treat the outing like it was an important contest for their playoff hopes.
They’ll have to find a way, regardless of schedule or travel difficulties, to bring their A-game every time they’re taking on a such an opponent. There will not be any easy games, and despite all of their improvements, they’re not yet the kind of team that can sleepwalk their way to a win without otherworldly goaltending. Frankly, Samuel Montembeault was pretty good for them on Thursday night, and it still wasn’t enough for any points in the standings.
The good news is that we know they can play better. They’ve shown it against significantly better teams than Detroit, so we can probably file this one away as an anomaly for the time being. They’ll have to put it behind them quickly, as they have a very tough three-game home stand on deck before they head out for the dreaded tour of California.
If they want to be in this wild card race through the end of the season, games like this are only going to get more important.
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