Canadiens push toward playoff spot with win over Red Wings
Josh Anderson scored the winner with 9:12 remaining in the third period and Sam Montembeault made 35 saves as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday for their sixth straight win. Cole Caufield – with his team-leading 37th – also scored while Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki added empty-netters for Montreal (39-30-9), which strengthened its position in the playoff picture. Montreal (87 points) built an eight-point cushion over Detroit, the New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot with one more game played. The New York Islanders (78 points) played the Nashville Predators later Tuesday. By beating Detroit, Montreal also helped the Ottawa Senators clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2017. Dylan Larkin replied for Detroit (36-34-7) and Cam Talbot stopped 17 shots at the Bell Centre. The Red Wings failed to earn a point for the first time in five games. Larkin tapped in a feed from Patrick Kane on an odd-man rush to open the scoring at 9:54 of the first period. Caufield tied the game at 16:29 of the second with a backhand between Talbot’s legs on the rebound. The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead when Christian Dvorak set up Anderson alone in front while Detroit’s Albert Johansson was picking his helmet up off the ice. /* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6371244914112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6371244914112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6371244914112&cmsid=384"; var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc"); if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; } var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP"); if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; } adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); } $el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") ); $( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-492450" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6371244914112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/6371244914112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/caufield-makes-great-defensive-play-before-burying-rebound-vs-red-wings/" }); }); Takeaways Canadiens: Another slow start for Montreal, which was playing its fifth game in eight nights. The Canadiens’ habit of struggling to start games reached a new level when the Red Wings poured on 23 shots in the first period, the most Montreal has allowed in a period this season. The team, however, rallied back to claim two points, another recent trend. Red Wings: Detroit’s first-period shot total wasn’t far off the 27.2 it averaged entering Tuesday’s game. The Red Wings’ playoff hopes died in this building last season despite pulling off a dramatic 5-4 shootout win in their regular-season finale. Key moment After Caufield’s equalizer, Detroit’s J.T. Com
Josh Anderson scored the winner with 9:12 remaining in the third period and Sam Montembeault made 35 saves as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday for their sixth straight win.
Cole Caufield – with his team-leading 37th – also scored while Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki added empty-netters for Montreal (39-30-9), which strengthened its position in the playoff picture.
Montreal (87 points) built an eight-point cushion over Detroit, the New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot with one more game played. The New York Islanders (78 points) played the Nashville Predators later Tuesday.
By beating Detroit, Montreal also helped the Ottawa Senators clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
Dylan Larkin replied for Detroit (36-34-7) and Cam Talbot stopped 17 shots at the Bell Centre. The Red Wings failed to earn a point for the first time in five games.
Larkin tapped in a feed from Patrick Kane on an odd-man rush to open the scoring at 9:54 of the first period.
Caufield tied the game at 16:29 of the second with a backhand between Talbot’s legs on the rebound.
The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead when Christian Dvorak set up Anderson alone in front while Detroit’s Albert Johansson was picking his helmet up off the ice.
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Takeaways
Canadiens: Another slow start for Montreal, which was playing its fifth game in eight nights. The Canadiens’ habit of struggling to start games reached a new level when the Red Wings poured on 23 shots in the first period, the most Montreal has allowed in a period this season. The team, however, rallied back to claim two points, another recent trend.
Red Wings: Detroit’s first-period shot total wasn’t far off the 27.2 it averaged entering Tuesday’s game. The Red Wings’ playoff hopes died in this building last season despite pulling off a dramatic 5-4 shootout win in their regular-season finale.
Key moment
After Caufield’s equalizer, Detroit’s J.T. Compher missed a gaping net after a weird bounce around the boards left Montembeault out of his net. Compher’s attempt floated high.
Key stat
Suzuki reached 86 points this season, giving him the highest total by a Canadien since Pierre Turgeon (96) and Vincent Damphousse (94) in 1995-96 – more than three years before Montreal’s captain was born.
Up next
Canadiens: Begin a two-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Friday.
Red Wings: Visit the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
