Fresh off a 5-2 defeat in their first game of the season, the Montreal Canadiens will be looking to bounce back against another divisional rival, the Detroit Red Wings. While the Habs were battling hard last night, the Wings were still waiting for their first game, and they’ll be launching their season on Thursday night.
Thursday night’s tilt will be the first of three duels between the two teams this season, with the other matchups being scheduled for January 10 and March 19. Montreal came out on top in its last meeting with Detroit, a 4-1 win last April, as they were in the midst of the playoff race. The Wings have won six of their last 10 games against the Habs; however, as a bubble team hoping to return to the playoffs this season, they should be considered direct rivals, making each game even more crucial.
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Acquired during the offseason, John Gibson will be the Wings’ starter tonight, and he’ll be looking to make a good impression in his first official game as a member of the organization. The netminder has taken on the Canadiens 10 times over the course of his career, and he has a 7-2-1 record with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. At the other end of the ice will be Jakub Dobes, who has yet to cross paths with the Wings.
There will be a few players the Canadiens will have to keep a close eye on tonight, starting with Alex DeBrincat, who’s a point-per-game player against the Tricolore; he’s got 19 points in as many games. Of course, Montreal cannot forget about Patrick Kane, who has 23 points in 27 games, or captain Dylan Larkin, who has 22 points in 34 games.
As for the Canadiens, Brendan Gallagher does typically well against them; he’s got 32 points in 37 duels with the Michigan outfit, followed by Patrik Laine, who has 21 points in 24 duels, and Nick Suzuki, who rounds up the top three with 16 points in 19 games.
After the loss in Toronto, Tony Marianaro on The Sick Podcast suggested that the Canadiens may want to bring former Red Wings Joe Veleno into the lineup to replace Patrik Laine. Firstly, because he’d be pumped up to play against the team that traded him away to the Chicago Blackhawks last season, but also because the show host felt like Laine’s play wasn’t good enough last night. I can’t agree with this. It takes time for a player to “reprogram their computer”. When St-Louis set out to make Cole Caufield a more complete player, it didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t with Laine either.
Overall, the Canadiens played a good game on Thursday night. While it’s true that St-Louis has more options and depth on his team than he did last year, it would be surprising to see him make changes after just one game. There’s no morning skate today, but there will be pregame media availability at 11:45. We may find out then if there will be changes to the lineup, or it may have to wait until game time. Whoever plays, though, they’ll be looking for a better result than Wednesday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM, and it will be broadcast on RDS, meaning the season starts tonight for Pierre Houde and Marc Denis, the best broadcasting duo on French Canadian TV.
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