Patrik Laine once again scored on the power play and the Montreal hockey club defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, winning a third game in a row for the first time this season.
The Habs had failed on their first three opportunities to win a third game in a row this fall. This time, he continued his momentum from recent games, once again benefiting from the contribution of Laine, the support staff and the brilliance of Samuel Montembeault in front of his net.
“We work hard and our play shows that we are developing as a team,” said Emil Heineman, author of a goal in a second straight game. We can be proud of what we have accomplished, but we want to continue to improve.”
By beating the Red Wings a second time in as many nights, the Canadian moved ahead of him in the standings and Martin St-Louis' squad is now in sixth place in the Atlantic section.
St-Louis said he was particularly proud of his group's response since the 9-2 thaw against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12.
“It starts with our state of mind and our attitude,” he said. I look at our start to the match recently, we come in waves, there aren't many passengers and it takes that. We limit the actions of the adversary and give ourselves a chance. I see progress.”
Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher scored the other goals for the Canadian (14-16-3). Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson each had two assists. In his ninth consecutive start and second in as many nights, Montembeault stopped 20 shots.
“He seems confident and he makes all the big saves,” Evans said of Montembeault. I'm sure it was more difficult for him physically tonight, but he once again made the important saves.”
Joe Veleno provided the timid response for the Red Wings (13-16-4). Alex Lyon had a difficult evening and stopped 19 shots.
The Canadian will play one last game before his Christmas break on Monday, when he visits the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The wind in the sails
The Canadian players needed a few minutes to find their bearings and the Red Wings took the opportunity to open the scoring.
After great missed opportunities by Jeff Petry and Dylan Larkin, Veleno scored at 6:41. He deflected a delivery from Jonatan Berggren behind Montembeault.
The Canadian turned things around late in the first period, first with two goals in a span of 72 seconds. Slafkovsky deflected a Suzuki shot into the goal at 14:14, then Evans surprised Lyon with a backhanded shot at 15:26.
Laine came back with 39 seconds left in the first period, on the power play. He tried to reach Slafkovsky at the mouth of the net. Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, however, deflected the puck into his own net.
The Canadian kept his foot on the accelerator after the intermission. Heineman surprised Lyon after 2:40 of play, after a throw from Christian Dvorak towards the slot.
Gallagher in turn took advantage of Lyon's generosity to score with 6:57 left in the second period. Josh Anderson gave him the disc behind and Gallagher moved the strings with a long and powerful shot hit in the upper part of the glove side.
The Canadiens fans were able to spend the third period singing “Olé! Olé!” and to make the wave, while the Red Wings have never managed to really threaten Montembeault's net with consistency.
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