The Detroit Red Wings Continue to Search for First Win in Montreal
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings roll into Quebec, Ontario to take on the Montreal Canadians, still searching for their first victory of the 2018/19 season.
The Detroit Red Wings should start with a vengeance tonight in Montreal. The Wings were embarrassed in Boston Saturday afternoon. They lost to the Bruins 8-2. Jonathan Bernier didn’t help his cause but was not the only Wing struggling. Bernier was left in goal all afternoon being the victim of the Bruins scoring barrage.
One can only assume the Detroit Red Wings had a hard practice Sunday before leaving for Montreal. If professional hockey players indeed take part in a “bag skate” it would have been after that embarrassment of an effort Saturday.
The Detroit Red Wings have struggled to generate consistent offensive zone pressure to start the season. Dan Bylsma was brought in to help the power play. The unit started the season off on a high note. They scored 3 early power play goals and then someone turned the tap to ” ice cold”.
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Jeff Blashill refused to tip his hand Sunday, but he mentioned forward Martin Frk would be making his season debut tonight. All signs point to Michael Rasmussen as being the odd man out. Sort of a typical Blashill move. He seems to prefer to sit the youngsters rather than letting them work through a struggle.
Justin Abdelkader and Thomas Vanek have yet to record a point and are both minus players, yet Rasmussen is a plus and has at least one point. I wouldn’t be in favor of sitting either veteran just expressing the difference between the treatment of a 19-year-old and an older player. I would though sit Christoffer Ehn over Michael Rasmussen to allow Frk an opportunity.
Look for Martin Frk to get a heavy dose of power play time tonight. He has 15 goal potential in that right-handed, blistering shot if the correct ice-time is allocated to him.
The Montreal Canadians feature an old friend on their top line. Longtime former Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar has found his way early on in the season with the Canadians. Tatar has 2 goals and 2 assists in four games with the Habs. Tatar is also a plus 3, wait, what? He hasn’t been a plus since 2015 playing alongside of Pavel Datsyuk. Paul Byron also has recorded a point a game early for the Habs even with a pair of goals and assists.
The Canadians still have Carey Price in goal. Price is day-to-day with the flu so the Wings may get lucky if he is unable to go. Price is off to a beautiful start considering what is playing in front of him. The netminder has started three of the four Habs games. He has a record of 1-1-1 with a goals against average of 2.32 and save percentage of .909%.
Jeff Petry is the son of Detroit Tigers great Dan Petry. He anchors the Habs backend. Petry has 4 points in four contests this season. Look for Brenden Gallagher or Andrew Shaw to be a torn in the side of the Wings all evening long. The Wings will counter with Tyler Bertuzzi playing a similar role for the good guys.
Xavier Ouellet is also playing for the Canadians and has yet to record a point and is a minus 3 on the season. The Wings second and third lines need to take advantage of the Habs lack of depth on defense. There is no reason AA and company should not be able to produce tonight.
Johnathan Drouin hasn’t woken up yet; he has 1 point on the season. Max Domi, the son of Tie, has 3 assists on the year.
Projected Detroit Red Wings Lineup;
Gustav Nyquist – Dylan Larkin – Anthony Mantha
Tyler Bertuzzi – Andreas Athanasiou – Thomas Vanek
Justin Abdelkader – Frans Nielsen – Darren Helm
Christoffer Ehn – Luke Glendening – Martin Frk
Dennis Cholowski – Filip Hronek
Jonathan Bernier
Injuries: Trevor Daley (head), Jonathan Ericsson (upper body), Mike Green (virus), Evgeny Svechnikov (undisclosed) Danny DeKeyser (lower-body)
Healthy Scratches: Luke Witkowski, Michael Rasmussen
The Montreal Canadians projected lineup:
Tomas Tatar – Philip Danault – Brenden Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Max Domi – Artturi Lehkonen
Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia
Charles Hudon – Tomas Plekanec – Matthew Peca
Victor Mete – Jeff Petry
Jordie Benn – Xavier Ouellet
Carey Price
Injuries: Shea Weber (Lower Body), Jacob De La Rose, David Schlemko
Healthy Scratches: Andrew Shaw, Karl Alzner, Nikita Scherbak
This is a winnable game for the Detroit Red Wings. They should come out tonight in a rotten mood after the severe loss in Boston. They will take out their frustration on the Habs and return to Detroit with their first victory of the season.
Next. Detroit Red Wings to Retire Leonard “Red” Kelly’s Number 4. dark
Game Information:
- Detroit Red Wings 0-3-2 vs. Montreal Canadians 2-1-1
- Time: 7:30 p.m EST
- Location: The Bell Centre
- TV: Fox Sports Detroit, TSN 2, Fox Sports Go, NHL.TV
- Radio: 97.1 The Ticket