Detroit City Wire

The Detroit Red Wings faced a tough weekend against the Montreal Canadiens, losing both games in their back-to-back series. On Saturday night at Bell Centre, the Red Wings fell 5-1 to the Canadiens.

Alex Lyon, the Red Wings' netminder, made 19 saves during the game. This followed a previous 4-3 loss to the Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena on Friday. Sam Montembeault, who was in goal for Montreal, stopped 20 shots in his second consecutive start.

Joe Veleno scored Detroit's only goal of the match and his fourth of the season. "Obviously, it's not fun losing back-to-back games against the same team," Veleno stated. He emphasized the importance of division points: "It's a four-point weekend that we just let slip away."

Veleno's goal came early in the first period from Jonatan Berggren’s pass, putting Detroit ahead 1-0. Moritz Seider also contributed with an assist, tying him with Willie Huber for third-most points by a Red Wings defenseman before age 24.

However, Montreal quickly responded with three goals before the end of the first period. Juraj Slafkovsky tied it up at 14:14 with a tip-in goal. Jake Evans added another goal shortly after, followed by Patrik Laine extending Montreal's lead during a power play.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde noted their initial strong performance but acknowledged they lost momentum: "We had some pace, zone time and then we let it get away from us."

Montreal further extended their lead in the second period with goals from David Savard and Brendan Gallagher, bringing the score to 5-1.

Injuries also affected Detroit's performance as Ben Chiarot left due to an upper-body injury. Coach Lalonde provided no update on Chiarot's condition post-game.

The Red Wings aim to recover before their next match against St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena on Monday night before taking a holiday break from December 24-26.

Patrick Kane stressed urgency for their upcoming game: "Find a way to get two points."

Veleno commented on Montreal's win: "They out-competed us... got to the net, created energy and built momentum off of it." Meanwhile, Seider reflected on their struggles: "We just got out-competed and out-worked."

Both players highlighted areas for improvement as they look forward to future matches.