One milestone night down for the Detroit Red Wings. Another one on the horizon.

Thursday, Patrick Kane netted his 500th NHL goal as the Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks.

POV: you’re in the TV booth with Ken & Mickey when Patrick Kane scores goal #500 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/PpoEGGlg4M

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 9, 2026

As excited as he is by the accomplishment, he’s also anxious to put it in the rear-view mirror.

“Obviously, we got a big game tomorrow, so try to turn the page here pretty quickly,” Kane told reporters following Friday’s practice.

Those big fish to fry would be the top spot in the Atlantic Division, and the entire NHL Eastern Conference, for that matter.

As they meet on Saturday at the Bell Centre, both the Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens are leading the Atlantic with 56 points. Having played one fewer game, Montreal is percentage points (.636 to .622) ahead of Detroit.

Both teams are one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first overall in the East.

“It’s a battle for first place,” Kane said. “So not much more needs to be said than that.”

First Red Wings vs Canadiens Matchup Since Opening Night

Montreal visited Detroit for the Red Wings’ season opener. The Habs smacked Detroit 5-1 that night.

In fact, the Canadiens have won four of the past five meetings with the Red Wings. Detroit coach Todd McLellan took note of that when he spoke about this game with his team.

“Todd stresses that a lot,” Kane said. “He talks about season series against teams, and especially in the Eastern Conference and within our division.”

McLellan emphasizes the value of winning those intra-divisional sets to overall placement in the standings.

“If you do that, you give yourself a pretty good chance (to be a playoff team),” Kane said. “We’re behind one (to Montreal) right now, so try to go and even it up tomorrow.”

First-place battles between the Canadiens and Red Wings evoke memories of Gordie Howe vs Jean Beliveau, and Terry Sawchuk against Jacques Plante.

It hasn’t been that long since either team tasted first place. But it’s certainly been a while.

The Red Wings haven’t been a first-place team since the 2010-11 season. As for Montreal, the last time the Canadiens finished atop the division was in 2016-17.

ICYMI: Alexandre Texier notched his first career hat-trick as the Habs routed the Panthers on Thursday

Highlights ↓ #GoHabsGo

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 9, 2026

Both teams are anxious to show that what they’ve achieved to date this season is no fluke. And the Red Wings certainly aren’t about to take the Canadiens lightly.

“I think they’re playing very well right now,” Detroit center Andrew Copp said. “I think they just beat two pretty good teams (Dallas and Florida), and they’re scoring goals.

“I think they’re kind of feeling it right now. So, yeah, it’ll be a great test for us.”