CANADIENS
Montreal

RED WINGS
Detroit

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings 

[one_half]Galchenyuk – De La Rose – Byron
Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw
Hudon – Plekanec – Gallagher 
Deslauriers – Froese – Carr
[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Benn – Weber
Alzner – Petry
Mete – Schlemko 
[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders

Price
Niemi

Scratches

Jakub Jerabek, Joe Morrow

Injuries

Ales Hemsky – concussion, Nikita Scherbak – knee,  Al Montoya – concussion, Artturi Lehkonen – lower-body, Jonathan Drouin – lower-body

Game Report

With the Canadiens firing on all cylinders against the visitors from Motor City, there were plenty of bouquets to be awarded after the game. But it provided an opportunity to bust one of the many Montreal myths that are so easily passed about as if they are gospel.

While the Canadiens have been one of the best teams at identifying amateur talent, there hasn’t always been proper follow through due to non-hockey considerations. In addition, the recent trend towards trading high-value picks has hurt the prospect pool.

As far as the development of Canadiens prospects, Sylvain Lefebvre and his coaching staff have been highly respected by the players who have made their way through the AHL system. But the Canadiens organization has done a poor job transitioning prospects to the NHL level. The obstacles placed in the paths of young players were particularly insurmountable during the Michel Therrien regime.

On Saturday night, three prospects developed by the Canadiens in the AHL played key roles in the dominating win.

Daniel Carr had a goal and two assists for three points and was a plus-3. In the two games since his recall, Carr has four points averaging 11 minutes of icetime. In Laval this season, Carr has 19 points in 20 games including 12 goals (third in the AHL.)

Habs fans mocked the choice of Jacob De La Rose to step in to centre the Canadiens top line with Jonathan Drouin missing two games due to injury. De La Rose has been outstanding posting points in consecutive games. On Saturday, De La Rose had a goal and two assists for three points and a plus-4.

Charles Hudon has been given every opportunity to prove himself since the first day of training camp. While Hudon has struggled at times with the strength and size of NHL players, his offensive returned against the Red Wings. Hudon had a goal and an assist on Saturday which followed his third goal of the season on Thursday night.

These players, Carr, De La Rose and Hudon received the tutelage of Lefebvre and his staff. When given a legitimate opportunity to show their full talent, each player has delivered.

This should give Canadiens fans hope for the future for players now learning their craft in Laval such as Michael McCarron, Noah Juulsen, Nikita Scherbak, Brett Lernout, Charlie Lindgren and Michael McNiven.

~~~

▲    Paul Byron, Jacob De La Rose, Alex Galchenyuk, Daniel Carr, Shea Weber, Jordie Benn, Victor Mete, David Schlemko, Carey Price, Nicolas Deslauriers  

▼    

1. Paul Byron  MTL
2. Nicolas Deslauriers  MTL
3. Alex Galchenyuk  MTL

• “We’re a fast team and I think we’re starting to establish an identity.”
• “The way we’ve played lately is more of what we can do and are able to do and what we want to do because it’s given us the success right now that we’re looking for.”

Jacob De La Rose

• “I tried not to think too much about producing, just to improve my game every game. I think it’s been going better lately and I’m trying to take advantage of the opportunity. It was nice to get the goal. It was good timing.”

Paul Byron

• “It was a crucial week for our season. There are two ways teams can go – either we pity ourselves and give up and stop fighting, or we could come together as a group and find a way to take it just one game at a time and get one win at a time. We knew it was a huge game for us. We want to continue to pick up wins and climb in the standings.”

Brendan Gallagher

• “There’s belief in this locker room. We believe we’re a good team. Pauly, ever since he’s been in Montreal, you see his speed, you see his ability to pull away from defenders. Rosie, he’s been playing really good hockey as of late. He finally got rewarded.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com