Canadiens riding three-game win streak ahead of long stretch away from home

Detroit Red Wings' Vladimir Tarasenko (11) is tripped by Montreal Canadiens' Kaiden Guhle (21) as he moves in on Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, December 21, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)

The Montreal Canadiens are on a season-best win streak ahead of their longest stretch away from home.

Patrik Laine scored on the power play, again, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings on consecutive nights with a 5-1 victory Saturday.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans, Emil Heineman and Brendan Gallagher also scored for Montreal (14-16-3), extending its run to three games. The streak might be short, but the Canadiens are playing their best hockey of the season amid another campaign where the playoffs look out of reach.

Joe Veleno opened the scoring early in the first for Detroit (13-16-4), then Montreal rattled off five unanswered goals to draw “Olé, Olé, Olé!” chants out of the Bell Centre crowd.

"We were talking about it before the game, and we wanted a good game at home before the New Year, and started right away,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “Got down a goal, but didn't change and played our way back into the game and took control."

Montreal also defeated the Red Wings 4-3 in Detroit on Friday.

The Canadiens won’t play at home again until Jan. 6 against the Vancouver Canucks. They’ll visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday before returning home for the NHL’s holiday break. Then they’re back on the road for five games after Christmas.

It’s an annual road trip through Florida that Montreal has struggled with in the past, but head coach Martin St. Louis likes where his team is after the recent stretch.

“It isn’t one thing, but it all starts with our mindset and attitude,” he said. “You look at all our starts recently, we come in waves, you don’t have a lot of passengers, and that’s what it takes.

"When you have that, you give yourself a chance, you don’t help the other team. You see there’s a progression. I’m proud of the group.”

While not naming names, St. Louis credited his veterans for pushing the envelope.

“What they’re doing, it’s contagious. They’re bringing everybody along,” he said. “I know we’re going through a rebuild and we’re trying to move along, but I think they feel very encouraged that we’re on the right track. If they felt we weren’t on the right track, I don’t know if we’re getting that kind of output from them. So for me, I love to see that.”

MONTY AGAIN

Sam Montembeault started in his ninth consecutive game while backup Cayden Primeau watched from the bench, even though the Canadiens played on back to back nights.

St. Louis appeared frustrated when asked whether the team had confidence in Primeau before the game, saying he was concentrating on coaching.

“Sam is playing well,” St. Louis said to explain his decision.

Montembeault backed up his coach with 20 saves in the win.

“It's nice when you know that you have a goalie like that behind your back,” Slafkovsky said. “I honestly had doubts that you could play back to back, because they probably have way more work than us playing 20 minutes, they gotta be inside there for 60, so it's tough.

“But he's a great goalie, and he can do that."

Primeau hasn’t started since Dec. 1 in a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. He entered the crease for Montembeault when the Canadiens lost 9-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 12, but allowed three goals on seven shots.

It hasn’t been an easy season for Primeau, once viewed as a prospect with the potential to become a starter in Montreal.

In 11 appearances, the 25-year-old American has an .836 save percentage and a 4.70 goals-against average — both last in the NHL among goalies with at least 10 games played.

Meanwhile, Montembeault is tied for the league lead with 27 games played this season, posting a .903 save percentage. His solid play in front of a shaky Canadiens defence helped earn him a Canada roster spot for this winter’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

ON THE HOT SEAT

The Red Wings missed the playoffs by a hair last season. This season, they’ve dropped to seventh in the Atlantic Division behind Montreal and look poised for a 10th consecutive campaign outside the playoffs.

Derek Lalonde, who’s coaching his third season on Detroit’s bench, said he isn’t losing sleep over his job being in jeopardy.

“It’s the reality of our profession, it really doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I think 27 coaches have been fired in the last year-and-a-half, you literally just don't think about it. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it's real, you stay in the moment. You worry about Monday.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2024.