MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 02: Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Detroit Red Wings is caught out of position as the puck is shot wide as teammate Filip Hronek #17 defends against Brendan Gallagher #11 of the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Centre Bell on November 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Detroit Red Wings rookie Moritz Seider was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month so it seemed a good omen for the Red Wings chances against Montreal. Never mind that both Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi were out for personal reasons and for being unvaccinated respectively. What would the result be?
First Period
The Canadiens came out firing early in the first. Nick Suzuki scored just two minutes in and Josh Anderson nabbed a goal of his own just seven minutes later. 2-0 Canadiens.
Detroit was lucky to get out the period with just a two-goal deficit. The Canadiens had multiple quality scoring chances, as defensive lapses started to pile up for the Wings. However, Alex Nedeljkovic made some incredible game and kept it within reach.
Second Period
Detroit picked themselves off the ice in the second, finally slowing Montreal’s offense and creating some chances of their own.
Eight and a half minutes of the period, the Wings had the chance the shot to get themselves back into the game with a power play. With thirty seconds left in the man advantage, an interference penalty by the Canadiens gave the Wings a 5-on-3 opportunity. However, they failed to score on the two man advantage and the ensuing power play. The rest of the period grinded on as both teams struggled to find the back of the net.
Third Period
The first ten minutes seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. Montreal sat back and let their defenders to the work, mucking up any sort of offensive attempts by Detroit.
A penalty on the Red Wings finally stopped play and the Canadiens had a chance to pile onto their two-goal lead late. The penalty kill was able to stop it.
The Canadiens put the dagger in with an empty-netter and skated away with a 3-0 victory.
The loss is Detroit’s third straight. They head to the east coast Thursday to face off against the Boston Bruins.