Cole Caufield scored a power play goal in overtime as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at Little Caesar Arena.

GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs Detroit Red Wings 2 | Final/OT

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards

15 Alex Newhook - 14 Nick Suzuki - 17 Josh Anderson
22 Cole Caufield - 28 Christian Dvorak - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson - 91 Sean Monahan - 11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta - 71 Jake Evans - 40 Joel Armia

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 52 Justin Barron
21 Kaiden Guhle - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic 
72 Arber Xhekaj - 54 Jordan Harris

Goaltenders

Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen 

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Jesse Ylonen, Sam Montembeault

Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), David Savard (hand), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower-body)

Game Report

Just about one year ago, on November 8, 2022, the Montreal Canadiens came into Little Caesars Arena riding a three-game losing streak. Mike Hoffman scored twice and Brendan Gallagher added two assists. Nothing was settled in regulation time, but Nick Suzuki scored the game deciding goal giving Montreal a 3-2 shootout victory.

On Thursday night, the Canadiens ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars.

Cole Caufield scored on the power play in the extra frame on a wrist shot that beat goaltender James Reimer. The Red Wings were serving a holding penalty as Reimer held the stick of Caufield following a collision.

This was a low-event game with much of the play happening away from the respective nets. Neither goaltender was tested greatly throughout the game. High danger scoring chances were just 6-4 for Detroit in a 65-minute contest.

Cayden Primeau relied on the skaters in front of him to deliver his first win of the season. Primeau allowed a weak goal to J.T. Compher in the third period allowing Detroit to tie the game. 

It was a homecoming for Primeau, who was born in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Keith Primeau, his Dad, played for the Red Wings for six seasons. Thursday night's victory was the Primeau's first win in almost two years; his last 'W' came on December 16, 2021 against Philadelphia.

After a week-long struggle in games, Mike Matheson worked hard to redeem himself with a goal and two assists. Matheson opened the scoring after receiving a great feed from Alex Newhook.

The win moves the Canadiens record to 6-5-2, one point better than at this time last season (6-6-1.) 

Game Statistics

Canadiens (6-5-2)
Shots: 26
Face-off %: 53.4
Power play: 2/5
Penalty minutes: 10
Hits: 18
Blocks: 14

Red Wings (7-5-2)
Shots: 29
Face-off %: 46.6
Power play: 0/4
Penalty minutes: 22
Hits: 16
Blocks: 13

Scoring Summary

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Matheson (3)
2nd period: --
3rd period: Suzuki (5)-PPG
OT: Caufield (5)-PPG
SO: --

Red Wings Scorers
1st period: --
2nd period: Fischer (1)
3rd period: Compher (3)-PPG
OT: --
SO: --

Goaltenders
MTL: Primeau (W) 1-1-0
DET: Reimer (OTL) 2-2-1

Canadiens Players of the Game

Nick Suzuki - Suzuki had a goal and assisted on Caufield's game-winner in overtime.

Mike Matheson - It was a three-point night for Matheson who had almost 28 minutes of icetime.

Cole Caufield - Three of Caufield's five goals this season have come in overtime.

Video Highlights

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTxSh97B6uw[/embed]

Post-game Quotes

Cole Caufield

“I like being in these situations. Of course it would be better to win in regulation time, but you have to take advantage of the opportunity in front of you."

Marty St. Louis

"I think that was our challenge tonight: to play a good first period, to score the first goal."

Game Preview

Primeau Gets Second Start for the Canadiens | PREVIEW: MTL @ DET

Up Next

The Canadiens return to Montreal for a four-game homestand. Boston Bruins visit the Bell Centre on Saturday night while the Vancouver Canucks are in town on Sunday night. Both games have 7 pm ET starts.

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.