HC Martin St. Louis gives his honest assessment of Montreal Canadiens' 4-2 loss to Detroit Red Wings 

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jan 24, 2025 06:20 GMT

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The Montreal Canadiens lost 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday. Detroit controlled the game early, outshooting Montreal 17-4 in the first period and taking a 2-0 lead. By the 24th minute, the Canadiens were down 3-0, a difficult position to recover from.

In the second period, the Red Wings extended their lead to 3-0 at 4:25. The Canadiens tried to level up their offense but were limited to just one goal on 12 shots.

Coach Martin St. Louis said postgame that his team lacked urgency and execution.

“They had much more urgency, pace, energy and execution, so we spent way too much time in our zone,” St. Louis said via Sportsnet. “Offensively, we were one and done in the first, which made it hard to grab momentum. First half of the game that lacked ingredients that make us successful…”

Montreal’s power play and penalty kill also struggled, missing key opportunities. St. Louis urged the team to honestly evaluate their performance. He warned that relying on a "B-game" would not lead to success.

“For us, it’s just to be really honest about the way we’re assessing how we perform," St. Louis added. "And I think that’s how we’re able to find consistency and not just ride the wave cause we’re winning and everything’s good...There’s things we need to do better.”

The Canadiens have played well recently, with a 10-2-1 record in their last 13 games. However, a busy schedule and limited practice time seem to have affected their sharpness. Missing five regular players in practice this week didn’t help either.

Red Wings converted their ideal start into a 4-2 win over Montreal Canadiens

Montreal's offense and defense were in complete disarray in the first period. Jonatan Berggren scored first for Detroit at 13:00 of the first period with a snapshot from the right circle. Alex DeBrincat made it 2-0 at 19:56, scoring his 20th goal from a sharp angle below the left circle.

Andrew Copp extended the Red Wings' lead to 3-0 in the second with a shorthanded goal at 4:25 on a wrist shot. Kirby Dach scored for the Canadiens at 5:29 with a wraparound goal to make it 3-1. Dylan Larkin restored Detroit’s three-goal lead with a power play goal at 7:50, jamming in a rebound.

Kaiden Guhle pulled Montreal closer at 11:06 with a point shot through traffic, making it 4-2. Despite 13 shots in the third period, the Montreal Canadiens couldn’t score again, ending their chance for a comeback.

The Montreal Canadiens will look to bounce back when they host the New Jersey Devils at Centre Bell on Saturday.