GAME DAY | Canadiens – Red Wings: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV
Sam Gerber
Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game : MTL 0 MIN 1 The game got of to a rocky start when Agostino got a 5-minute major for interference and a game. It was a late hit but the penalty was increased due to the player being injured after hitting his head off the top of the boards. Shortly after Weber blocked a shot that ramped up his stick and got him square in the mouth. He played the rest of the period but did not return afterwards and the Habs were down two players for the rest of the game. Price was strong once again and kept his team in it but the Habs weren’t hungry and failed to go to the dirty areas. The power-play failed them once again and the Habs lost their second in a row.
Jeff Petry
Petry had an up and down game against the Wild. He was forced to take on a bigger role when Weber went out with injury and Petry committed a turnover that cost his team the team. He owned the mistake and will be looking to rebound tonight.
Max Domi
Domi is not scoring, is making poor decisions and is taking bad penalties. His defensive effort has been lacking as well. Domi needs to start hitting, creating space and play a smart, energy game.
Brendan Gallagher
Gallagher is in the midst of an eight game goalless drought. He needs to get back on track tonight.
Keys to Victory
Use their speed
In my opinion, the Wings are the fastest team in the league who can catch opposition teams napping. The Canadiens have to be ready and counter their speed with speed of their own.
Stay composed
The Habs and Wings can get chippy. It’s important that Montreal maintains their composure and not let the heat of the moment get the best of them.
Win special teams In a game that’s expected to get a little nasty, the Habs have to win the special team battles to have a chance at the win.
Matchup by All Habs staff
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI | January 8, 7:30 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, FS-D
2018-19 statistics
RED WINGS
CANADIENS
39 (26th)
Points (rank)
49 (14th)
16-21-7
Record
22-16-5
9-11-4
Home/Away
11-7-3
2-6-2
Last 10
5-5-0
2.77
GF/G
3.00
3.32
GA/G
3.09
17.0
PP%
12.8
78.2
PK%
78.3
46.91
CF%
54.31
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Nyquist – Larkin – Bertuzzi
Vanek – Nielsen – Mantha
Helm – Glendening – Athanasiou
Ehn – De La Rose – Abdelkader
The Wings are having the season that was expected. Montreal must take advantage. After two losses in a row and generating just one goal in those games, the Habs need to get their scoring touch back. The Wings are a young team who struggle to score and defend. The Canadiens must be wary of Dylan Larkin, who is able to break a game open with his speed. The Habs don’t have many players that compare to Larkin but they do have a team that has more depth and if they work together they should be able to overwhelm the Wings.