Red Wings pull together 3-0 shut against Canadiens on opening night

Elmer Soderblom watched his shot go into the net, marking his first NHL goal in his debut with the Detroit Red Wings. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

What was a very close game most of the night exploded into a major victory for the Detroit Red Wings Friday night. A late goal in the third period with Elmer Soderblom in his NHL debut led Detroit to a 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena. Back-to-back empty net goals capped the night for Hockeytown, who waited for life to come back in full for their squad. Goaltender Ville Husso in his first career game recorded a shutout stopping 29 shots on the night.

The Red Wings took their opportunity to impress on opening night in a matchup against an Original Six rival. With some time to test out new faces on the squad, Detroit hopes to increase the PK, minimize goals against, and most importantly, return to the postseason in 2023. Under the new leadership of head coach Darek Lalonde, who GM Steve Yzerman has great faith in after his time in Tampa Bay, can bring together a positive season.

The Canadiens already have a victory under their belt, defeating the Maple Leafs in a 4-3 win Wednesday. Like Detroit, their moment on home ice was short, as will Detroit’s in what they hope will be victory before heading out.

The Canadiens took charge in the first two minutes, taking a great scoring chance to Husso. They notched four shots at the net, while Detroit had two against Jake Allen across the ice. Detroit took control, keeping the puck well inside the Montreal zone, and putting some close shots near the net. At 14:32, the Red Wings got their chance to test out the power play unit. Their attempts to go down low were all but stopped due to heavy traffic by the Canadiens in front of their netminder.

Despite lost chances, the Red Wings kept the possession in the Montreal end, putting together 12 more shots on goal through the midsection of the period. Montreal tallied two in that amount of time, but neither team found the back of the net. With 5:36 left, Montreal earned a shot to take the lead on an interference call to the Red Wings. Dylan Larkin took a chance at the puck and nearly had a short-hander for Detroit before being shut out at the hands of Allen.

The Canadiens didn’t make much of their man advantage, seeing the puck loosened up by the Red Wings. In the final minute of play, Detroit went back to the man advantage, inching closer to scoring the game’s first goal. A centering drive from Jakub Vrana sent the puck behind Allen and within inches of the line. The Montreal PK brushed it out of the way, but an open net just seconds later was taken, only to be stopped as well.

Getting out of trouble was huge for the Habs, who finished off the penalty and were happy to hear the horn sound ending 20 minutes of play. Detroit had shot 25 at the net, which bested any game they played last season. It was a major improvement for the team as a whole, who won 68 percent from the face-off delivering a dozen hits, and generating a positive outlook for the remaining 40 minutes.

The Canadiens went on their second power play 2:36 into the period, only to see the Detroit special teams work them out of any offensive position. When they returned to full strength, neither Montreal nor Detroit had a high offensive level. Through ten minutes, both teams had five shots on goal, but as they went on, a play for the Red Wings started with Larkin leading to chances at the net. The Habs netminder made the all-important stop, as time continued to tick down.

Detroit looked for the game’s first goal on their third power play, but not much was produced from the two-minute opportunity. They suddenly found themselves even as the second period closed, shooting nine against Montreal’s seven. The Habs won more pucks from the faceoff, earning their time with the puck in the period while limiting Detroit from heating up.

In the third, the Red Wings took matters into their own hands to dictate the pace right off the faceoff. At 2:33, Soderblom scored his first career goal on a wraparound move from Michael Rasmussen that got to the Swede for the centering shot. Though they had the all-important lead against Montreal, they watched their opponent rack up the shots on the net to Husso.

When they got into their third-man advantage, the Detroit goaltender made a big stop against Josh Anderson, who scored the game-winner against Toronto. The Red Wings went on to stop the Canadiens with eight minutes left in regulation. Detroit played on, preventing the Canadiens from gaining a boost in offense and an attempt at tying the score. With two minutes left, Montreal coach Martin St. Louis chose to pull Allen for the extra man on the ice.

Detroit got serious with 1:23 left, awaiting to see what Montreal put together after their timeout. The face-off took place in the Detroit zone, and the Red Wings cleared it out. Detroit won the puck and before the minute mark came, they got a jump on the Habs, with Andrew Copp getting the puck moving. He got it to Rasmussen, who took it into the empty net. Just 14 seconds later, it was 3-0 for the Red Wings, with Olli Maatta getting in on the action.

With two empty net goals on record, Montreal put Allen back in to finish the game and suffer a shutout at the hands of the home team. Maatta recorded the team’s 40th shot of the night, keeping Montreal back with 29. Breaking apart Montreal’s plan to level and force overtime was a huge success to bring a terrific start to the season.