RECAP: Red Wings can't hold third-period lead in 4-3 loss to Canadiens 

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings didn’t get the outcome they wanted against the Montreal Canadiens at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night, but a perk of playing a back-to-back home-and-home set is they have an opportunity to bounce right back from their 4-3 loss when the clubs face off at Bell Centre on Saturday night.

“We have a chance to get some momentum before going on [holiday] break, but we have to be better tomorrow,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “I can see why they’re a really good team at home. Their bottom-six is a really good bottom-six, and you can see when they dictate some matchups. They’re a really good team. We’re going to have to be better tomorrow. We’re going to have to bring our best.”

Goalie Cam Talbot, who had missed six of the last seven games because of a lower-body injury, made 29 saves for Detroit (13-15-4; 30 points). Netminder Sam Montembeault had 25 stops for Montreal (13-16-3; 29 points).

“He made some nice saves, controlled his rebounds well,” Lalonde said about Talbot’s night. “I think with rhythm and him being comfortable, he probably eliminates two of those goals fairly easily, but it’s all part of it coming off injury. There’s going to be a little rust there."

Emil Heineman took a backhand pass from Jake Evans, skated into the offensive zone and beat Talbot with a short-side shot from just outside the left face-off circle to open the scoring and give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 7:09 of the first period.

Montreal almost jumped ahead by a pair just past the halfway point of the first period, but Moritz Seider stretched out his stick just in time to stop Evans from taking advantage of a wide-open net.

Answering right back for the Red Wings, Patrick Kane scored his second goal in as many games and fifth of the season when he went upstairs with a wrister from a hard angle to bring it to 1-1 at 13:27 of the first period. Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat assisted on Kane’s 88th game-tying goal of his NHL career, moving past Joe Pavelski (87) and tying Joe Mullen (88) for the third most by a U.S.-born player.

“He’s just been all over the puck,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said about Kane, who extended his point streak to three straight games. “I think he’s elevated it and raised his compete. It’s great to see.”

Montreal went up 2-1 on a short-handed goal from Evans at 18:31 of the first period, but Detroit struck just 56 seconds later when Joe Veleno tipped in Jeff Petry’s shot from the point past a screened Montembeault to tie it 2-2.

Michael Rasmussen got the secondary assist on Veleno’s third tally of the campaign, and like Kane, his second in as many contests.

Following a scoreless middle frame, Tyler Motte’s second goal of the season gave the Red Wings their first lead of the night at 1:40 of the third period. The play started when Rasmussen forced a turnover then threaded a no-look feed behind him to Motte, who hammered home a one-timer to make it 3-2.

"Motter works hard, goes in the right spot," Rasmussen said. "He’s good on the forecheck, he skates really well. I knew he was in the area; I just threw it out there hoping he was there."

Arber Xhekaj’s goal, which he scored by finishing a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle, drew things even 3-3 at 8:42 of the third period. Montreal would push ahead 4-3 just 3:20 after that, when Patrik Laine’s shot broke Seider’s stick en route to the back of the net for a power-play goal.

Talbot was pulled with 1:32 remaining, but the Red Wings couldn't get the game-tying goal before time expired.

"Would’ve been real nice to score that one [on the power play late in the third period], tie the game up and get it to overtime or score another one in regulation," Larkin said. "We just didn’t do it."

Detroit came up empty on four power-play opportunities on Friday night, which, according to Lalonde, greatly influenced the game's final outcome.

"We went O-fer on the power play," Lalonde said. "They scored a shorty and obviously, got a power play in the end. It was a huge part of the game -- our inability to execute on special teams."

NEXT UP: The Red Wings and Canadiens will finish their back-to-back home-and-home at Bell Centre on Saturday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Lalonde on if he felt his players were a little too casual at times

"Yeah. Probably some puck play early on, manage it. We’ve got to be better with the puck. The margin of error’s not there. We can’t have lapses in our game. We have to be good on special teams, and obviously tonight we were not."

Lalonde on seeking traction

'We were sitting here---two games in a row. Great opportunity, three of our last four. Forty minutes didn’t feel like we had our best, but it was still there for the taking, and we get that third goal, and then we just had that mishap to give up the tying, and then, obviously, special teams was the difference in the end."

Larkin on not letting Laine's power-play goal frustrate them

"It's a bounce. It went their way. I think leading up to that point, we get the lead and we just get a little casual. We take a penalty and we allowed another fluky play where Kaner and the guy go down in the corner, then the puck gets out to the defensemen and he’s walking down all alone. It’s just a couple plays that didn’t go our way."