This is the first game in a back-to-back set for the Canadiens, who are in Boston Sunday.
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Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Red Wings game at Little Caesars Arena Saturday (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):
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The matchup: This is the third of four meetings between these teams and the Canadiens won the first two games at the Bell Centre. They won 6-1 on Oct. 23 and 3-0 on Nov. 2. The Canadiens are coming off a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday after losing in overtime to Los Angeles on Tuesday. That marked the first time this season that the Canadiens have earned points in two consecutive games. The Red Wings, who have a 7-6-2 record, were 2-0 losers at home to the Washington Capitals Thursday as former Canadiens prospect Zach Fucale made 21 saves in his NHL debut.
Who’s in goal? This is the first game in a back-to-back set for the Canadiens, who are in Boston Sunday. The Canadiens usually split the goaltending chores in those situations, but the team hasn’t shown a lot of confidence in Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen could start both games. Montembeault has lost both of his starts, but he relieved Allen in the third period of the Nov. 4 game against the Islanders and stopped all 10 shots he faced, including eight on the power play. Alex Nedeljkovic will likely get the nod over Thomas Greiss in the Detroit net.
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Suzuki on a roll: Nick Suzuki wasn’t happy with his play in a Halloween loss in Anaheim, but he scored a goal Thursday and also picked up an assist on Ben Chiarot’s opening goal. That put an exclamation point on a strong performance during the Canadiens’ five-game homestand, when he had four goals and five assists. He has four goals and 14 points in 15 games to lead the Canadiens in scoring. Chiarot and Mike Hoffman also have four goals to share the team lead.
Injury updates: The only recent good news for the Canadiens on the injury front is the return of defenceman Mattias Norlinder, who was injured during training camp. There’s no room for him, but he’s expected to see action on this trip because the Canadiens need to determine whether the 21-year-old is ready to play in the NHL. If not, he’s heading back to Frolunda in the Swedish League. Jonathan Drouin (headaches), Cédric Paquette (undisclosed) and Mathieu Perreault (eye) are not expected to play and that means there will be another opportunity for the Laval trio of Alex Belzile, Ryan Poehling and Michael Pezzetta to impress. You have to like Pezzetta because he’s a late-round draft pick who isn’t shy about playing an agitator role.
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Bertuzzi the wild-card: Can one player make a difference? The Red Wings hope so as they face Montreal for the first time this season with Tyler Bertuzzi in the lineup. He missed the first two games in Montreal because he has refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and is barred from entering Canada. This is a problem for the Wings, who play in a division with Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Despite missing three games, Bertuzzi is Detroit’s leading scorer, with nine goals and 15 points. Lucas Raymond has 14 points, including six goals. Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings’ captain, also missed the second game in Montreal. He took a week off to deal with a family emergency. He has four goals and nine points in 11 games.
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