Detroit Red Wings on Canadiens: Five Things You Need to Know

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Here are five things to know about the Canadiens-Red Wings game at the Bell Center on Saturday (7 pm, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):

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The match: The last time these teams met was in the 2019-20 season shortened by the pandemic and things did not go well for the Canadiens. Detroit had the worst record, by far, in the NHL, but they swept the four-game season series against the Canadiens, beating Montreal 14-9. The Canadiens lost a 4-1 decision to Carolina on Thursday and are the only team without a point in the standings after starting the season with five consecutive losses. The Red Wings, who have not secured a playoff berth for five seasons, are 2-1-1 after losing 3-0 to Calgary on Thursday.

The goalkeepers: Jake Allen gave the Canadiens a chance to win in his first two starts in goal, but his two most recent appearances have reflected the general futility Montreal’s defensive efforts experience. Allen is winless in four games and is averaging 3.07 goals against and a .891 save percentage. Thomas Greiss, a 35-year-old German, is 2-0 with an average of 1.00 goals against and a league-leading .969 save percentage. The question is whether Greiss can maintain that level for a long period. He had decent numbers in Detroit last season: 2.70 GAA and .912 SP, but he didn’t get much support from the worst offensive team in the league and finished with an 8-19-8 record.

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Not enough power: There was a lot of excitement Thursday when Tyler Toffoli scored the Canadiens’ first power goal of the season, but let’s not forget they had another five power games in which they didn’t score. The Canadiens have a goal of 19 power games and that’s just not good enough for a unit that is last in the NHL. On the other side of the ledger, Carolina scored on her only power play. Montreal has given up at least one power play goal in each of its five games and is ranked 30th in the league with a 55.6 percent success rate.

This doesn’t work either: While the power game has struggled, the Canadiens are no better at 5-on-5 situations, which has been the team’s strength in recent years. Jonathan Drouin has scored two of Montreal’s four goals and there are seven forwards who have yet to register a point. That group includes rookie sniper Cole Caufield, who is probably going through the longest goal drought of his life, and two-time 30-goal scorer Brendan Gallagher. The veteran thought he had a goal against Carolina, but was annihilated by goalkeeper interference.

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Course change for Larkin: Tyler Bertuzzi is off to a fast start for the Red Wings, with five goals and one assist in four games, but Detroit is hoping this will be a game-changing season for local talent Dylan Larkin. Larkin had a great season in 2018-19, when he scored 32 goals and 73 points, but his last two seasons have been disappointing. He scored 19 goals in 2019-20 and scored just nine goals in 44 games last season while battling injuries. He is healthy again and has one goal and two assists in three games. But the most encouraging sign is that he is paying more attention to defense. He has a +4 rating after going to a minus-78 combined for his first six seasons.

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