Montréal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings: game preview
MontréalCanadiens2026-27: 1-1-1 · 3 pts · 2025-26: 48-24-10 · 106 pts · 6that
DetroitRed Wings2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 41-31-10 · 92 pts · 16thFourteen points apart last season
Montréal finished last season 6th in the league on 106 points. Detroit finished 16th on 92, and the 2025-26 season series went DET 2-1-0.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 662
Across 661 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 373-270-18.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 9 Oct 2025, Montréal were 14th in the league and Detroit 30th. By 19 Mar 2026 it was 8th and 10th.
Detroit out-attempted Montréal 324 to 276
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Montréal Canadiens
Detroit Red Wings
Montréal and Detroit are level on chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Montréal, 3 for Detroit. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Montréal, 10 for Detroit.
2025-26: 82 games for Montréal, 82 for Detroit.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Montréal
Small sampleDetroit
Small sampleAlex DeBrincat has 7 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Alex DeBrincat vs Montréal · game by game
See all: Alex DeBrincat vs Montréal · game by game →John Gibson has started most of these meetings
John Gibson played 3 of the last 5 meetings with Montréal, with a .918 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Montréal crease
MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Feb
Two goalies used against Detroit
John Gibson
See all: John Gibson →DET · 1-2-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Feb
Scoring rates point to about 6.4 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Montréal4.004.673.453.12
Detroit2.332.672.943.15Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
12 on the injury lists
Montréal · injuries
Detroit · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).
Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.
Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).
Placed F Dylan Larkin on the non-roster injured reserve.
Assigned Fs Ondrej Becher, Cameron Butler, Sheldon Dries, Noah Dower Nilsson, Dylan James, Jesse Kiiskinen, John Leonard, Sutter Muzzatti, Theo Rochette, Dominik Shine and Wilmer Skoog, Ds Ronnie Attard, Jacob Bryson, Shai Buium and William Lagesson and Gs Trey Augustine and Michal Postava to Grand Rapids (AHL).
Acquired F Sutter Muzzatti from Nashville Predators for future considerations.
Montréal · 2026 draft
See all: Montréal · 2026 draft →Detroit · 2026 draft
See all: Detroit · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final