MONTREAL – The Canadiens closed out their season with a thrilling 5-4 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.
The game was chock full of noteworthy moments, starting with Alex Newhook’s opening goal of the night near the midway mark of the first period. The tally gave the Newfoundlander his 100th career point and a new career high in goals with his 15th of the season. Making his NHL debut in the game, defenseman Logan Mailloux picked up his first career point on the goal.
After the Wings tied it later in the period, the Habs shot out to a 3-1 lead on goals from Brendan Gallagher and Cole Caufield. With an assist on Newhook’s goal beforehand, Gallagher recorded his seventh multipoint night of the campaign.
Detroit responded with a pair of goals to even the score, but defenseman Lane Hutson, making his Bell Centre debut, got a shot on net from the blue line after demonstrating some exceptional stickhandling and patience and Juraj Slafkovsky took advantage to once again give the Habs the lead with 7:14 remaining in regulation. The goal was Slafkovsky’s 20th of the season – his 50th point – and Hutson earned his second NHL point and first at the Bell Centre with an assist.
The Red Wings had other ideas, however, and tied the game in the dying seconds of regulation before defeating the Habs in the shootout.
Cayden Primeau stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced on the night. For more stats, check out the NHL’s Gamecenter summary here.
It was an emotional night at the Bell Centre, as the Canadiens bid farewell to their fans for the 2023-24 season. The team marked the final home game of the year with Fan Appreciation Night, with various initiatives and tons of prizes given to those in attendance. The theme night culminated with the Jerseys Off Our Backs ceremony presented by RBC, where a number of lucky fans were handed jerseys directly by the players on the ice.
