DETROIT | The Canadian came to Michigan with the goal of ending a three-game winless streak. In front of him, the Red Wings had the wind in their sails with four wins in their last five outings.
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It didn’t look easy for Martin St-Louis’ troupe. As if the challenge wasn’t already big enough, the Montrealers had to defend a good part of the evening short of a man.
The second period was particularly painful, as Jordan Harris, Kaiden Guhle and David Savard practically took turns in the dungeon.
Despite everything, the Habs left the city of the automobile with two more points in the standings, with a 3-2 win in the shootout. Much of the credit inevitably goes to Jake Allen, who stopped 41 of 43 shots aimed at him.
“It wasn’t easy, but we found a way to win this match. A lot of credit goes to the players who killed the punishments. They fought hard and gave us a chance to win this game,” Allen said.
A double from Hoffman
Offensively, Mike Hoffman led the charge with two goals. The striker had not moved the strings since October 22, when the Stars visited the Bell Center. On each occasion, he took advantage of a throw return from Brendan Gallagher to lodge the disc in a practically empty net.
“It wasn’t very nice goals, but it was simple hockey. Being in the right place at the right time sometimes pays off,” Hoffman said.
This contribution was timely as Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield failed to hit the target in the 65 minutes of play. It was only the fourth time this season that neither had scored in the a match.
However, the dynamic duo rallied in the shootout. Caufield and Suzuki set the tone by scoring in turns.
In the final moments of the third period, Juraj Slafkovsky was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for pushing Matt Luff against the ramp. A shoulder blow that will perhaps earn him a suspension.
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Jake Allen
Mike Hoffman was the spark plug on offense with his two goals However, the Habs wouldn’t have suffered the same fate without an inspired outing from Jake Allen For the second straight game he faced over 40 shots
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Jonathan Drouin
Paired with Sean Monahan and Evgenii Dadonov, we did not see him in the game Martin St-Louis had entrusted him with the role of pointer on the massive attack During the only power play of the Canadian, he committed a turnover which led to the breakaway, then to the Dylan Larkin penalty shot
First period
1-Mon: Mike Hoffman (2) (Gallagher, Harris)5:41
2-Det: Austin Czarnik (1) (Kubalik, Copp)16:29
3-Mon: Mike Hoffman (3) (Gallagher, Dvorak)19:44
Penalties: Xhekaj (Mon) 7:11, Copp (Det) 11:23
Second period
No goal
Penalties: Harris (Mon) 8:07, Guhle (Mon) 10:21, Savard (Mon) 16:58, Savard (Mon) 20:00
Third period
4-Det: Lucas Raymond (5) (Suter, Hronek)10:37
Penalties: Slafkovsky (Mon) (served by Brendan Gallagher) (shift and inc) 14:28, Soderblom (Det) 16:26
Extension
No goal
Penalties: Penalty: Hoffman (Mon) 4:38
Shooting
Montreal wins by 2 to 1Montreal (2): Caufield (goal), Suzuki (goal), Drouin (miss) Detroit (1): Raymond (miss), Perron (goal), Larkin (miss)
Shoot to the net
Montreal 8 – 9 – 12 – 4 – 33Detroit 16 – 14 – 10 – 3 – 43
Guardians:
Mon: Jake Allen (G, 4-5-0) Det: Ville Husso (PP, 5-1-2)
Numerical advantages:
Mon: 0 in 1, Det: 0 in 7
Referees:
Graham Skilliter, Michael Markovic
Linesmen:
CJ Murray, Kyle Flemington
ASSISTANCE:
17,033
What we noticed…
Rem Pitlick in Laval
Placed on waivers the day before, Rem Pitlick was not claimed by any of the 31 other teams on the circuit. The 25-year-old forward was therefore transferred to the Laval Rocket. Scratched from the lineup five times this season, Pitlick hasn’t scored a point in seven games.
The return of Dadonov
Evgenii Dadonov was back in action after being sidelined in St. Louis and spending the past week on the injured list. He saw action for 13 mins 2s. It was hardly noticed, except for one sequence. He came close to collecting his first point halfway through the match. He and Sean Monahan were insistent with Ville Husso. But the Red Wings goaltender got the last laugh.
Perfect Allen
In the first period, Jake Allen stood twice in quick succession in front of Dylan Larkin. First on the breakaway, then on the penalty shot that followed. It was the third time Allen had faced a penalty shot since the start of his career. He is always perfect. By the way, in the shootout he also doesn’t fare too badly. He stopped 62 of the 84 shooters he faced (.738).
Angry Savard
David Savard took time to digest the punishment awarded to him by Michael Markovic for tripping Michael Rasmussen in the final moments of the second period. When he got back on the ice, he kept telling him his way of thinking. Even the sound of the siren did not dampen his enthusiasm. The official gave him a few warnings before awarding him 10 minutes for misconduct.