MONTREAL — The atmosphere at Bell Centre never disappoints, especially when two Original Six rivals meet on a Saturday night.
The Detroit Red Wings tuned out the “Go Habs, Go,” chants and turned in a fine road performance, avenging an opening night loss and evening the season series. The Wings came away from their only visit of the season to the home of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, in the second of three meetings.
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Alex DeBrincat added a goal to his night when he was left wide-open to rip Patrick Kane’s pass into Montreal’s net 34 seconds into the third period. Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.
Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) scores a goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler (32) during the second period at Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
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The Habs, who schooled the Wings, 5-1, back in the season opener in October, were denied on 27 shots by John Gibson as he earned his third shutout since Dec. 8.
Red Wings playoff position
The two points earned lifted the Wings (27-15-4) into first place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games). Next up, the Wings host Metropolitan Division leader Carolina on Monday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), with the Hurricanes visiting on the night the Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91.
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Rough stuff in Montreal
Detroit Red Wings goalie John Gibson (36) makes a save against Montreal Canadiens center Oliver Kapanen (91) during the first period at Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
The Wings incurred some bumps along the way, especially Mason Appleton, who took one stick near the eye area and another – by teammate Elmer Söderblom – to the lips. At one point in the third period, Gibson had to check his helmet for damage after getting dinged by a puck.
But what a win.
The Wings came out with good pace, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth early on. The Habs shot wide on Gibson until more than five minutes in, when Ivan Demidov set up Oliver Kapanen just outside the crease. Kapanen’s shot slid into the paint, but Gibson was able to glove it before it crossed the goal line.
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The Wings went on a power play seven minutes in, and the unit of Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond and DeBrincat had such control of the puck they were out the entire two minutes – but the Canadiens did a good job getting in lanes to block shots.
Another man advantage materialized around the midpoint when Brendan Gallagher high-sticked Appleton in the face, but again the Habs prevented the Wings from generating shots on net.
Putting it in the net
Ninety-one seconds into the second period, the Wings were back on a power play. Larkin forced a save from Jacob Fowler on a doorstep shot, but the game was back at even strength when they made it 1-0.
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Jacob Bernard-Docker had the puck at his own goal line when he sent a pass to van Riemsdyk (who arrived at Bell Centre dressed as Batman, for his 4-year-old son) along the boards. By the time he got to the red line, van Riemsdyk had two defenders on him, so he dumped the puck deep. But instead of going around the net, as Fowler thought it would as he skated behind his net to play it, the puck bounced off the end boards and out front, where Raymond turned it into his third straight five-on-five goal in the last three games.
The Wings built on their momentum just past the midpoint of the game when they converted during their fourth power play. Seider had the point up top and found DeBrincat along the left boards. DeBrincat made a short pass to Larkin, who took advantage of van Riemsdyk getting in Fowler’s line of vision to one-time a shot that gave the Wings a 2-0 lead.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, jump into Atlantic lead