The Montreal Canadiens faced the Detroit Red Wings for the first time this season as the Michigan team came to town last in the division with a 1-3-0 record. On Friday, Georges Laraque had suggested on BPM Sports airwaves that fans should try to seduce Dylan Larkin with cheers and chants. Timid attempts were drowned out by the Bell Centre’s pregame show early on, but fans didn't boo the American anthem, and in the first frame, when Larkin took the ice, the “We want Larkin!” chants were clearly audible.

For the second time in as many games, the Canadiens appeared to score early, but the goal was called back. This time, Cole Caufield appeared to score from an impossible angle, but after a lengthy review, they determined the puck didn’t cross the line.

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The Canadiens didn't let the setback get to them and kept going strong; with 6:35 left in the first frame, they led 9-2 in shots, but a couple of penalties to Kirby Dach and Jake Evans gave Detroit 27 seconds at five-on-three.

Given the state of the Habs’ special teams, one would have been forgiven for thinking they'd surrender at least a goal, but Jacob Fowler decided otherwise. The young netminder made five saves on the PK, and while he did give a couple of juicy rebounds, his teammates were able to prevent the Wings from getting to them, and he gave them credit:

As calm as ever, the youngster stood tall and held his ground, even stopping a late push in the dying seconds of the first frame. Allowing a goal there would have been a gut punch. He kept up the good work in the second frame, stopping an early chance and even getting his stick on the crease to block a shot.

When the Habs couldn't score on the PP, he stopped Alex DeBrincat, who was alone in front of him, once again keeping things from going sour for the Canadiens. All night long, his positioning and tracking were flawless, all the way to the six-round shootout. A well-deserved shutout for the youngster.

The Canadiens dominated the Wings in the second frame, taking 11 shots on net, but they still couldn't bury their chances. Their golden opportunity came on the power play; they were up a man while Detroit had to make do with four players but three sticks. The Habs kept trying the same play, moving the puck to the wings for one-timers instead of adapting and taking more shots from the middle with traffic in front of the net.

Maybe give Zach Bolduc a shot on the first power-play unit to shake things up. With a power play that has one goal on 17 opportunities, changes are needed to shake things up. Waiting for Ivan Demidov’s to come back won’t do.

The Trois-Rivières native is off to a great start, and he’s already found the back of the net a few times, scoring three goals in the first four games. On Saturday, he played another solid match, and it was fitting that he was the one to put an end to it with a shootout goal after Alexandre Texier’s goal in OT was waived off for an offside he caused:

It took some time before Martin St-Louis gave Bolduc the nod to have a shot on Daniil Tasarov, but he put that time to good use:

While Bolduc might have felt guilty about costing Texier a goal, the Frenchman wasn’t the only one to see a goal overturned during the game. After Caufield's early goal, the referees also waived off Bolduc's own goal because Jake Evans interfered with the goaltender in the crease.

The referees don't have an easy job, and it could be easier if the NHL followed soccer’s example and put a tracker in the puck to prove whether it went in. Still, St-Louis didn’t want to entertain that thought:

The coach didn’t want to get on the referees’ or the league’s bad side, but in those kinds of instances, human error and unnecessary lengthy delays could be removed from the game, and that’s something the league should look into.

In the end, the Canadiens got the two points, but it certainly wasn’t easy or quick. The first period featured a lengthy review, and the rest of the game featured a myriad of icing calls and offsides; the Habs had to work hard for those two points, and they will certainly make it easier to have a good day off on Sunday.

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