Result: Montréal Canadiens 1-0 Detroit Red Wings (SO)
Sixty-five minutes, sixty shots, no goals. Jacob Fowler stopped all 30 he faced for Montréal and Daniil Tarasov stopped all 30 for Detroit. Zachary Bolduc scored the only goal of the shootout. John Gibson dressed for Detroit without playing, as did Jakub Dobeš in Montréal.
Our pick: Montréal. Correct on the winner and completely wrong on the game. We called 4-3 and took the over, on the basis that the goaltending on both sides was a worry and Montréal’s save percentage sat at .856. Fowler answered with a 30-save shutout. Naming a weakness and assuming it repeats is the error, and it is worth recording because we got the shape of a game wrong twice this weekend.
The preview as published before the game follows.
Montréal has conceded nineteen goals in four games and has used three different goaltenders. Its best young winger is on injured reserve.
Canadiens vs Red Wings is the biggest search of Saturday’s Canadian slate, and it arrives with both clubs under .500 and neither defending well.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Game | Detroit Red Wings at Montréal Canadiens |
| Date | Saturday 10 October 2026 |
| Puck drop | 7:00pm ET · 6:00pm CT · 5:00pm MT · 4:00pm PT |
| Venue | Centre Bell, Montréal |
| 2025-26 head to head | Detroit won two of three |
| Records | Montréal 1-2-1, Detroit 1-2-0 |
| 2025-26 finish | Montréal 6th (106 pts), Detroit 16th (92 pts) |
| Rest | Detroit on the second of a back-to-back, Montréal with 1 day off |
How to watch
| Region | Broadcast |
|---|---|
| Canada | Sportsnet East, TVA Sports |
| United States | DSN |
Sportsnet East and TVA Sports have it in Canada. Regional coverage can differ from the national listing, and our how to watch the NHL in Canada page has the full picture.
Canadiens vs Red Wings odds
No Canadian book had posted by 8 October. Prices land on our NHL odds page, and who’s expected in net is on our NHL starting goalies page.
Montréal’s problem is at both ends of the rink
Montréal has started three different goaltenders in four games. Jakub Dobes took the first three at .856, and Jacob Fowler got Thursday’s 5-2 defeat to Nashville on his first NHL start.
Sam Montembeault would have been the alternative. He was hurt in Wednesday’s practice and is now listed out, which is how Fowler came to start.
Nick Suzuki has six points and Lane Hutson four assists from the blue line at 21. Chris Kreider, who arrived from Anaheim in the summer, has four. Zachary Bolduc has three goals.
Ivan Demidov is the absence that hurts. Sixty-two points as a 20-year-old last season, and he went on injured reserve on Tuesday with a lower-body problem.
Detroit has won once and lost its best young defenceman to a contract
Simon Edvinsson has gone back to Sweden. He’s an unsigned restricted free agent rather than an injury, and Detroit’s blue line is thinner for it.
The one win was 5-3 in Ottawa on Tuesday, and it came from four unanswered goals in the middle of the game. Alex DeBrincat scored twice, including the clincher on the power play with fifty seconds left.
Lucas Raymond had three assists in that game. Dylan Larkin and Viktor Arvidsson both scored. John Gibson, in his first season in Detroit, made 22 saves.
Marco Kasper is week-to-week and J.T. Compher is day to day, so the forward group that produced those four goals isn’t quite intact either.
Detroit took two of three last season
| Date | Result | Venue | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-09 | Montréal 5-1 Detroit | Detroit | 6 |
| 2026-01-10 | Montréal 0-4 Detroit | Montréal | 4 |
| 2026-03-19 | Montréal 1-3 Detroit | Detroit | 4 |
Montréal won the opener 5-1 and then lost both of the games that followed, including a 4-0 shutout at home in January.
Team news
| Player | Club | Status | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Edvinsson | Detroit | Out, Contract | No timetable |
| Marco Kasper | Detroit | Injured Reserve, Upper Body | Week to week |
| J.T. Compher | Detroit | Day to day | Check the morning skate |
| Mason Appleton | Detroit | Injured Reserve, Undisclosed | No timetable |
| Carter Bear | Detroit | Injured Reserve, Upper Body | No timetable |
| Sam Montembeault | Montréal | Out, Undisclosed | No timetable |
| Ivan Demidov | Montréal | Injured Reserve, Lower Body | No timetable |
| Kaiden Guhle | Montréal | Injured Reserve, Groin | No timetable |
| Oliver Kapanen | Montréal | Day to day | Check the morning skate |
Montembeault and Demidov are the two that change this game. League-wide availability is on our NHL injury report.
Players to watch
Nick Suzuki. A hundred and one points last season and six already. Montréal goes as he does.
Lane Hutson. Seventy-eight points from defence last season at 21, and four assists in three this time.
Alex DeBrincat. Two goals in Ottawa and the player Detroit turns to when it needs one.
Lucas Raymond. Three assists on Tuesday and the most creative forward on the ice when Kasper’s out.
Score prediction
Detroit Red Wings 3-4 Montréal Canadiens. Montreal is at home with the better top six and Detroit has scored seven goals in three games. The goaltending question on both sides is why this lands high.
Canadiens vs Red Wings prediction
Montréal finished fourteen points clear of Detroit last season and has the better group of forwards. Suzuki, Hutson and Kreider are a harder three to handle than anything Detroit puts out.
The counter is that Detroit won two of three last season, including a shutout at the Bell Centre, and Montréal’s goaltending is a genuine worry at .856.
Both clubs are missing a forward they’d rather have. Demidov is the bigger loss.
Our lean: Montréal, and the over if the total sits at 6 or lower. Montréal has conceded nineteen in four and Detroit let in five in Ottawa. Where each sits against the other 30 is on our NHL power rankings.
Puck drop is 7:00pm ET on Saturday 10 October 2026 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Unsettled. Jakub Dobes started the first three at a .856 save percentage and Jacob Fowler made his first NHL start on Thursday. Sam Montembeault is out.
No. Montreal placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday with a lower-body injury.
He is an unsigned restricted free agent and has returned to Sweden. It is a contract situation, not an injury.
Detroit won two of the three meetings, including a 4-0 shutout at the Bell Centre in January. Montreal won the opener 5-1.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Odds are approximate at the time of writing and changeconstantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.