Red Wings' Dylan Larkin celebrates 700th game with goal in 4-2 win vs. Canadiens

Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News on Jan 23, 2025

Published in Hockey

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DETROIT — Returning home for a game on Thursday proved to be the tonic the Red Wings needed.

After a disappointing road trip, the Wings returned to Little Caesars Arena and earned a needed 4-2 victory over Montreal.

Playing in his 700th NHL game, captain Dylan Larkin had a goal and assist, Moritz Seider had two assists, and goaltender Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots as the Wings (22-21-5) ended a three-game winless streak.

Talbot made a key save on Cole Caufield driving alone to the net midway in the third period, maintaining a two-goal lead for the Wings.

The Wings defeated Florida to open last week's four-game trip, then lost in Tampa, Dallas and Philadelphia (in overtime) in what lived up to being a difficult road trip.

But the Wings looked re-energized while opening a three-game homestand.

Jonatan Berggren (8th goal) and Alex DeBrincat (20th) gave the Wings a 2-0 lead after one period, then Andrew Copp (ninth goal, shorthanded) and Larkin (21st goal, power play) with second-period goals ended a stretch of the Wings scoring one goal in each of the three losses.

"Marty (St. Louis, Montreal coach) has done an outstanding job, they have a ton of confidence right now," coach Todd McLellan said after the morning skate. "Their key guys are playing well and hitting on all cylinders. They are confident. When Patrik Laine came back (from injury) it gave them a boost, both offensively and morale wise and they've capitalized on it."

The Wings were playing without forward Patrick Kane (upper-body), a key offensive piece. But DeBrincat talked after Thursday's morning skate about the Wings' depth and the need for it to make up for Kane's absence.

"He's a great offensive player and he creates a lot of offense for us," DeBrincat said. "But it's a next man up mentality. We need to take that load off (the top line) and hopefully he (Kane) comes back sooner than later. But for the time being, we need to figure out a way to get into the offensive zone and create stuff without him."

Montreal (24-20-4) has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL lately (7-2-1 in last 10 games) and have crept within a playoff spot. Plus, the Original Six rivalry made for a typical entertaining atmosphere at LCA when the two teams meet.

"You get those rivalries, and they're in a similar spot as us (in the standings)," DeBrincat said. "They have such good skill over there, and these division matchups are very important. We gave them two (victories) already this season."

McLellan felt a contribution from the power play, being assertive around the net, and getting off to a good start would ignite the offense and that's what happened against the Canadiens.

"The mentality has been similar, it hasn't changed a lot," McLellan said. "We want to play direct as we can. When pucks have gone into areas that the first shot is created, we've got sticks on the second one but we haven't been quick enough to capitalize or we're a little bit out of position, so that has to change.

"Our offensive confidence came from the power play when we were scoring a lot. That has to get back to where it was. That's where the confidence comes from and the feel good when you start games.

"When you start games in Tampa and Dallas like we did and fall behind, it affects the offense. You get a little tentative and don't want to make more mistake because if we fall behind two or three goals, we're less likely to win, so the you start playing reserved and tentative. When we've had good starts, we've been on top of teams and you feel good and you can keep the pace up."