The Detroit Red Wings enter Monday night’s home game against the Montreal Canadiens with their playoff aspirations fully intact, having been on life support on Saturday.
In Toronto, the Red Wings needed at least one point to avoid being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
The scenario became much more tight when the lethal Maple Leafs offense went on a power play with 2:45 left in regulation and the score tied 4-4.
However, the Red Wings were able to kill the penalty and earn the necessary point by forcing overtime. They received an extra point for winning the game, 5-4, on Dylan Larkin’s power-play goal.
Detroit enters its last home game of the regular season in a strong playoff position.
The Detroit Red Wings (39-32-9, 87 points) are tied with Washington and Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference’s second and last wild-card slot on Monday. Detroit needs to finish ahead of those teams in the standings because the Capitals and Flyers have a tiebreaker over the Red Wings based on regulation wins.
Washington (38-31-11, 87 points) and Philadelphia (38-32-11, 87 points) face off in the regular season finale, ensuring that one of the two teams will score at least 89 points. Detroit knows it needs at least three points in its last two games to qualify for the playoffs.
The game in Detroit will be the first of a back-to-back between the Red Wings and Canadiens. The teams will play again on Tuesday in Montreal to wrap off the regular season.
“We’ve got Montreal, and man, that’s dangerous, the way they’ve been going,” he remarked. “We’ve been in their position, and it’s a completely different ballgame than what we’ve been playing, these playoff-style games. We must show up and have our foot on the gas.
To Larkin’s point, Montreal has been a tough team to play against despite being well out of playoff contention.
In the last three weeks, Montreal (30-36-14, 74 points) has defeated Colorado on the road and Florida and Philadelphia at home. The Canadiens suffered a 5-4 shootout setback to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but they’ve shown they can compete with some of the league’s finest teams.
There has been no hotter player for the Canadiens than forward Cole Caufield, who has seven goals in the last seven games. He scored twice in Saturday’s loss to Ottawa.
“I think pucks are just finding their way in,” Caufield said. “Chances are coming. I am just going to try.
Monday might see the debut of one of Montreal’s best prospects. The Canadiens signed 20-year-old defenseman Lane Hutson to an entry-level deal on Friday, following his collegiate season with Boston University.
Hutson, who was picked in the second round (62nd overall) in 2022, is originally from Michigan.
The last two matches between the teams this season ended in overtime. The Canadiens won 3-2 in Detroit on November 9, while the Red Wings triumphed 5-4 in Montreal on December 2.
