CANADIENS AT RED WINGS
Stu Cowan lists five things you should know about Friday's game between the Habs and Wings at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
1. A good start
The Canadiens opened their season with an impressive 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night at the Bell Centre. Last season, when the Canadiens finished with the worst record in the NHL (22-4911), they didn't get their first win until their sixth game, got their second win in their eighth game and went 2-8 in their first 10.
2. Goal Caufield
Cole Caufield scored twice in the win over the Maple Leafs. Caufield didn't score in his first 12 games last season and didn't get his second goal until his 31st game — the first after Martin St. Louis took over from Dominique Ducharme as head coach. Caufield finished the season with 23 goals — including 22 in 37 games with St. Louis behind the bench.
3. Allen back in goal
Jake Allen was given the day off from practice Friday, but will start in goal again against the Red Wings after stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced against Toronto. With the score tied 2-2 and 2:40 left in the second period, Allen made a big stop on Alex Kerfoot on a penalty shot after he had been hooked from behind on a breakaway by defenceman Arber Xhekaj, who was making his NHL debut. The Canadiens will be back in action Saturday in Washington against the Capitals (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) and head coach Martin St. Louis said after practice Thursday “we'll see” when asked if Samuel Montembeault will start in goal for that game.
4. Special teams
Last season the Canadiens ranked 31st in the NHL on the power play (13.7 per cent) and 27th in penalty killing (75. 6 per cent). They went 0-for-4 on the power play against Toronto, but the Leafs also went 0-for-4 when they had the man advantage. Last season, the Leafs had the best power play in the NHL (27.3 per cent). The Canadiens won 51 per cent of their faceoffs against the Leafs, led by newcomer Sean Monahan, who won nine of 15 faceoffs (60 per cent). Monahan also scored a goal on his 28th birthday.
5. Big Ben
Former Canadiens defenceman Ben Chiarot will be making his debut with the Red Wings as they play their first game of the season. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes dealt Chiarot to the Florida Panthers last March in exchange for forward Ty Smilanic (now at the University of Wisconsin), a fourth-round pick at this year's NHL draft (forward Cedrick Guindon, now with the OHL'S Owen Sound Attack) and a firstround pick at next year's draft. Chiarot, 31, signed a four-year, Us$19-million contract with Detroit as a free agent this summer that has an annual salary-cap hit of US$4.75 million.