Hutson and Mailloux Energize the Bell Centre | RECAP: DET @ MTL

Montreal Canadiens defensemen Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux created excitement in their Bell Centre debuts against the Detroit Red Wings.

Forwards

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

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 94 Logan Mailloux
48 Lane Hutson - 58 David Savard
47 Jayden Struble - 52 Justin Barron

Goaltenders

Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault 

(starters in bold)

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Colin White, Jesse Ylonen, Johnathan Kovacevic, Jordan Harris
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Joshua Roy (hand), Arber Xhekaj (upper body), Kaiden Guhle (upper body)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A43RAVe3K0k[/embed]

Looking for the Apple Podcasts link? Click here!

Despite having nothing on the line, the Montreal Canadiens experienced two of the most exciting games of the season in Games 81 and 82 with the Detroit Red Wings. Of course, for Detroit, the stakes were quite high.

The Canadiens should take note. When the Red Wings season was on the line, they came through in dramatic fashion to do all they could to get to the post-season. That's where the Habs want to be, and their fans want them to get there soon.

Was this game a replay of the one the night before in Detroit? It was indeed similar. Following goals by Alex Newhook, Brendan Gallagher and Cole Caufield, the Canadiens were cruising with a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. Logan Mailloux assisted on the Newhook goal for his first career point in his NHL debut.

But after a couple of miscues by Cayden Primeau, Montreal found themselves in a 3-3 tie just over three minutes into the third period.

Juraj Slafkovsky redirected a point shot by Lane Hutson to give the home side the lead once again. For Hutson, it was his second point in his second NHL contest. Slafkovsky triggered a $250,000 bonus by scoring his 20th goal of the season.

David Perron beat Primeau with under five seconds remaining to force overtime. It was the fourth game this season between Detroit and Montreal that required extra time.

The game could not be settled in the five minute overtime period despite the Canadiens enjoying a four-on-three power play advantage.

Patrick Kane sealed the win for Detroit with a goal in the shootout.

The highlight for Canadiens fans was enjoying the play of Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux and the way both players energized the team and the arena. Mailloux earned 21:14 in ice time in his first NHL game by being hard to play against and by protecting the puck. Hutson (23:32) brought Bell Centre fans out of their seats by his creativity in the offensive zone.

The Canadiens end the season on a four game losing streak. They are presently occupy 28th place in the standings pending Wednesday's game between the Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers.

Canadiens (30-36-16)
Shots: 33
Face-off %: 54.9
Power play: 0/3
Penalty minutes: 0
Hits: 13
Blocks: 15

Red Wings (41-32-9)
Shots: 40
Face-off %: 45.1
Power play: 0/0
Penalty minutes: 6
Hits: 19
Blocks: 11

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Newhook (15)
2nd period: Gallagher (16), Caufield (28)
3rd period: Slafkovsky (20)
OT: --
SO: --

Red Wings Scorers
1st period: Seider (9)
2nd period: Veleno (12)
3rd period: Sprong (18), Perron (17)
OT: --
SO: Game-deciding goal: Kane

Goaltenders
MTL: Primeau (OTL) 8-9-4
DET: Reimer (W) 11-8-2

Brendan Gallagher - Gallagher scored a goal and added an assist. Gallagher recorded five goals and three assists in his last five games of the season.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hwsDXPApXc[/embed]

Martin St. Louis

“I'm proud of where we are as a group both on the ice and off the ice."

Logan Mailloux

“I was trying to display my style while playing simply. I consider myself a defenseman who can play both ways. The players and coaches helped me, they didn’t make my life too complicated."

"My family was here, it was pretty special."

With that, the Montreal Canadiens have completed their 82-game season. Eyes now turn to the Laval Rocket who resume their push for a playoff spot on Friday and Saturday against the Belleville Senators.

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.