Canadiens look to take massive step in wild-card race vs. Red Wings
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The Montreal Canadiens will look to take a significant step toward locking up the final wild-card spot with a win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
The Canadiens have pulled away from the pack in the Eastern Conference amid a five-game win streak. The Red Wings are 3-0-1 in their past four games as the team attempts to keep up.
Montreal is six points ahead of Red Wings and the New York Rangers, who suffered a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, and seven points ahead of the New York Islanders, who have one game in hand and visit the lowly Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
The Canadiens are close to ending a three-year playoff drought dating back to falling in the Stanley Cup Final during the 2021 playoffs.
On the opposite bench, the Red Wings enter the game as a desperate club, hoping to close within four points of Montreal with a regulation win while still holding a game in hand.
"It's a big game," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin told NHL.com of the matchup. "Our season's on the line. We've put ourselves in that position, whether good or bad, and we're going into a hockey game where we've got to win, and that's exciting. Great building to go into and have a game like that."
The Red Wings have not reached the playoffs since 2016 and fired head coach Derek Lalonde after 13-17-4 start to the season. Todd McLellan has a 23-16-3 since taking over behind the bench in late December.
"It's a stressful time right now," Larkin added. "But at Christmas it was … I mean, it was not good. It was bad. We struggled, and [it] felt like it was going to be the longest four months to the end of the season that could be possible, and we were just going to put our equipment on and go out there and play and suck it up.
"But we've battled, and we've had a lot of new faces in the lineup and a lot of young faces, and it's been exciting to see them come in and see how they play and see how they handle the pressure, see how they've grown in this time. There's so much difference from Christmas to now.
"We're still in this, and that's because we didn't quit. We turned it around, and we showed that we can play in big games in pressure environments and win hockey games."
Following Tuesday's game, the Red Wings will visit the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning before a one-game home stop to host the Dallas Stars. They finish the season on the road against the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canadiens will visit the Ottawa Senators and Maple Leafs this week before closing out their season at the Bell Centre next week with games against the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes.