Mantha, Red Wings end nine-game losing streak against Canadiens

MONTREAL -- Anthony Mantha scored his sixth goal, and the Detroit Red Wings ended a nine-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-2 win at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Mantha, who was named the NHL Second Star for the week ending Oct. 6, gave Detroit (3-1-0) its third lead when his power-play goal made it 3-2 with 4:22 remaining in the second period.
"We're playing great hockey right now," said Mantha, who scored on a one-timer from the top of the right face-off circle. "We're fast, we're playing a lot in our (offensive) zone, in their (defensive) zone, so (we) need to keep it there and our chances are going to come."
WATCH: [Red Wings at Canadiens highlights]
The forward has eight points (six goals, two assists) in four games, including four goals in a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Joel Armia and Max Domi scored, and Carey Price made 30 saves for the Canadiens (1-1-2) in their home opener.
"We're not sharp, and at the end of the day we've got to find that sharpness if we're going to win some hockey games," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said.
Jonathan Bernier made 33 saves for his first win in 12 NHL games in Montreal (1-8-2).
"I waited too long for that one, but obviously it feels nice," said Bernier, who is 2-11-3 in 18 games against the Canadiens.

Detroit was 0-8-1 against Montreal since winning 2-1 in overtime at Bell Centre on March 21, 2017.
"I went from two hot dogs pregame, that's what I've done here since I've been the head coach, I went to three hot dogs," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "So I sacrificed for the team here tonight. I'm not sure my nutritionist was real pleased.
"We actually didn't talk about it, to be dead honest with you. What we did talk about is this is a team that's finished ahead of us. This is a team we want to finish ahead of, and in order to finish ahead of them, you have to beat them. We really focused more on just tonight."
Darren Helm gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead on a rebound at 13:33 of the first period.
Armia scored his third goal in two games, tying it 1-1 from the top of the slot with 53 seconds left.
Tyler Bertuzzi put Detroit ahead 2-1 30 seconds later.

Domi made it 2-2 on the power play at 4:34 of the second. It was the sixth tying goal for Montreal this season.
"We've just got to play with the lead," said Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin, who assisted on Armia's goal. "You've got to get the lead. ... So far the focus to get that lead hasn't been there."
Luke Glendening scored into an empty net to make it 4-2 with 58 seconds left.

They said it

"I just thought it was a solid performance. These are the type of games, for us to be successful, we're going to have to win. You know, 3-2 late in the game, I thought we did a good job in the third of not giving them a ton. I thought we defended fairly well most of the game, and when they got chances, I thought Bernier was excellent. I thought the depth of our forward group was good tonight, I thought [Jacob] de la Rose's line was really good. So these are the types of games we're going to have to win." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"They were skating well. They used their speed throughout the ice, and made it difficult to come up the ice in unison. They played a pretty good road game." -- Canadiens goalie Carey Price

Need to know

It was Detroit's first regulation win in Montreal since Dec. 4, 2007. The Red Wings were 3-9-2 in their previous 14 games here prior to Thursday. … Syd Howe holds the Red Wings record for most points through the first four games of a season with 11 (four goals, seven assists) in 1944-45. … The Canadiens have scored a power-play goal in each of their first four games. Montreal's 31 power-play goals were the fewest in the NHL last season, and their 13.2 percent success rate was second to last.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CITY, TVAS, FS-MW, NHL.TV)