Detroit City Wire

After falling to the Montreal Canadiens, the Detroit Red Wings now trail their Atlantic Division rival by eight points for the Eastern Conference's second Wild-Card spot. Despite this setback, there are still five regular-season games remaining, meaning Detroit is not out of the race just yet.

“This just makes our road a little harder,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin commented on the situation. “Anything can happen. Look at what has gone on since the Trade Deadline in our conference. We got to win. It’s a tough back-to-back [on Thursday and Friday] and tough matchups the rest of the way. If we play like that tonight, I think we’re going to win some hockey games down the stretch.”

Detroit, who received 17 saves from goalie Cam Talbot, has one game in hand over Montreal, which saw netminder Sam Montembeault turn aside 35 shots. “We’re still alive,” said Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan. “We’re not dummies. We know we’re on life support and we need help, but let’s rely on each other.”

The Red Wings dominated the first period, outshooting Montreal 23-5, but took only a 1-0 lead, thanks to Dylan Larkin's goal, who also passed Reed Larson for the most career NHL points by a U.S.-born skater in Red Wings history with his game-opening tally.

“That’s hockey, right? Some games are like that, where you control the play,” Patrick Kane remarked. "We dominated the first 20 minutes and we’re still in a good spot with a one-goal lead but would have been nice to get that second one.”

The Canadiens tied the game in the second period with a goal by Cole Caufield. Detroit's penalty kill erased two power-play chances before Caufield scored. McLellan reflected, “We take the two penalties in about a five-minute span... You could feel it swing a little bit in their favor and the fans started to get into it.”

Josh Anderson put the Canadiens ahead in the third period, capitalizing on a misfortunate play involving Albert Johansson. McLellan mentioned, “You couldn’t draw it up any worse for us than that because [Johansson] would have been in perfect position to kill that play.”

Detroit attempted to rally by pulling Talbot for an extra attacker, but Montreal secured the win with two empty-net goals, thereby extending its winning streak.

“I think it can sit for tonight,” Moritz Seider said regarding the loss. "It should hurt, but other than that, once we get to Florida tomorrow, it should be out of our heads already."

Among the quotes, McLellan highlighted the team's strong start, stating, “Great start, great first period. You’d like to be up more than 1-0 going in." Larkin noted the lingering thoughts of missed chances, “Yeah, it lingers. It’s fresh right now." Kane praised Talbot's recent performance, “He’s been great for us.”

The Red Wings' next game will be against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.