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Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings: Game preview, predictions and odds | January 23, 2025

Modified Jan 23, 2025 15:23 GMT

The Montreal Canadiens are on the road to play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Montreal (24-19-4) is coming off a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Meanwhile, Detroit (21-21-5) enters the game after suffering a 2-1 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Canadiens vs Red Wings: Head-to-head & key stats

Montreal is 296-209-96-9 all-time against Detroit
The Canadiens are averaging 3.02 goals per game
Detroit is 12-11-2 at home with a -7 goal differential
Montreal is allowing 3.3 goals per game
The Red Wings are averaging 2.79 goals per game
The Habs are 11-11-1 on the road with a -6 goal differential
Detroit is allowing 3.23 goals per game

Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings: Preview

Montreal is on a two-game winning streak and is fighting for a playoff spot. The Canadiens are led by Nick Suzuki, who has 47 points. Cole Caufield has 44 points, Lane Hutson has 39 points and Juraj Slafkovsky has 26.

The Canadiens will start Sam Montembeault, who's 17-16-3 with a 2.95 GAA and a .899 SV%. In his career against Detroit, he's 3-0-2 with a 2.73 GAA and a .899 SV%.

Detroit, meanwhile, is coming off an OT loss to the Flyers. The Red Wings will start Cam Talbot, who's 11-10-2 with a 3.07 GAA and a .901 SV%. In his career against Montreal, he's 8-3-1 with a 1.58 GAA and a .941 SV%.

The Red Wings are led by Lucas Raymond, who has 51 points. Dylan Larkin has 43 points, Alex DeBrincat has 37 points and Patrick Kane has 30.

Canadiens vs Red Wings: Odds & Prediction

Montreal is a +102 underdog while Detroit is a -122 favorite. The over/under is set at 5.5 goals at -130.

The Habs and Red Wings are both fighting for playoff spots, so this is a crucial game in the Eastern Conference. Montreal has been playing well as of late, and the Habs should be able to continue that success with a road win here.

The Red Wings are struggling to score, and that should continue as Montembeault has had success as of late.

Prediction: Canadiens 3, Red Wings 2.