Mike Matheson makes the turnover that costs the Habs the game

Michaël Petit
Mike Matheson makes the turnover that costs the Habs the game
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

On Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens visited the Red Wings in Detroit, who were without their star player, Dylan Larkin.

On the Habs' side, it was announced earlier in the day that Josh Anderson was officially injured and would miss the game.

Anderson's impact isn't as significant as Larkin's, but he is one of the few forwards who delivers a lot of hits.

Moreover, the game was of great importance to both teams, as the Wings were just two points behind the Canadiens in the standings heading into the matchup. They were also the last team to make the playoffs in the East.

In a game like this, the physical presence of a player like Anderson would have been welcome.

With #17 out, Joe Veleno regained his spot in the lineup. It worked out well, since he was facing his former team.

Here is the Habs' lineup for the game:

Right from the start of the game, Martin St-Louis's squad quickly set the tone. After five minutes of play, the Habs led 8-1 in shots on goal.

The Red Wings had a strong stretch just past the halfway point of the game. Interestingly, heading into the game, the Red Wings had the worst first-period goal differential in the NHL (-12).

For the remainder of the first period, things were much calmer, but the Red Wings were assessed a penalty with just over two minutes remaining.

But the Habs couldn't capitalize on the opportunity to open the scoring.

While the game wasn't very offensive, both goalies played an excellent game.

In the second period, the Habs took two consecutive penalties, and fortunately for them, Dobes held the fort.

Let's just say that the call to penalize Lane Hutson—the Habs' second penalty of the period—was a bit questionable… Especially when you consider that the referees let a few moves by the Wings slide that could have warranted a penalty.

However, late in the second period, the Wings also took a penalty, and the CH opened the scoring during that power play.

Juraj Slafkovsky scored his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Nick Suzuki (81st point of the season) and Cole Caufield. Caufield was now just one point shy of the 70-point mark, which would also be a career high.

After 40 minutes, the score was 1-0 in favor of the Habs.

The Red Wings, however, quickly responded in the final period with a somewhat lucky goal. There was a lot of traffic in front of Dobes' net. Patrick Kane took a weak shot from the point, and it deflected off J.T. Compher's thigh—Compher never even saw the shot coming.

Scoring chances came from both sides, but both goalies held strong to keep the game close.

Throughout the game, the intensity was palpable, as both teams really wanted the two points. Ideally, both clubs wanted to settle it without having to go to overtime or a shootout.

Unfortunately, Mike Matheson committed the biggest turnover of the game in his zone, and Alex DeBrincat capitalized on it to score his 34th goal of the season, putting his team in the lead.

What a mistake with just over three minutes left…

Martin St-Louis went all out late in the game to tie it up, but Andrew Copp scored the insurance goal into an empty net.

Final score: 3-1 for the Red Wings.

The Habs' next game will take place Saturday night, when Matthew Schaefer and the Islanders travel to Montreal to face Martin St-Louis's squad.


Overtime

– Once again, the Montreal Canadiens had the edge at the faceoff circle. Suzuki and Phillip Danault (once again) led the charge in that department.

– Zachary Bolduc failed to seize his opportunity to prove himself in Josh Anderson's absence. He didn't deliver a single check and turned the puck over four times during the game… It's also worth noting that young Hutson turned the puck over five times. However, one could argue that this is “more acceptable” in his case, as he plays significant minutes and is therefore on the ice more often when the opposing team's best players are.

– The two standout players of this game were undoubtedly the two goalies. John Gibson and Dobes were excellent and each kept their team in the game.

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