Red Wings at Canadiens
THE STORY: It's no secret that the Detroit Red Wings have been downright dominant at home. A club-record 17-game winning streak at Joe Louis Arena is as good as evidence as any to substantiate that claim. However, the Red Wings' road record leaves a bit to be desired as they have split their 26 games away from Hockeytown (13-13-0) this season. Detroit will look to improve its road standing and secure its season-high eighth overall victory when it visits the Bell Centre on Wednesday for a date with the Montreal Canadiens. Wednesday's lone NHL tilt begins a stretch of five straight road games for Detroit, which has secured an NHL-best 67 points. "You got to play the games on the road, too. That's just the way the schedule's worked out," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock joked on Tuesday. While the Red Wings are a .500 club on the road, the Canadiens can't even make the same claim at home after limping to an Eastern Conference-worst 8-9-7 mark.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (33-15-1): All-Star G Jimmy Howard secured his 30th victory for the third straight season with a 3-1 triumph over the Central Division rival St. Louis Blues on Monday. Howard has won both of his career starts versus the Canadiens, permitting just four goals in the process. LW Johan Franzen collected his NHL-leading ninth game-winning goal when he snapped a tie midway through the second period versus the Blues. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom set up a pair of goals to tie Hall of Famer Phil Esposito for 21st place with 873 assists.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (18-21-9): While Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas opted to miss his chance to meet the President, Tomas Kaberle did not. The Czech defenseman was part of the Boston Bruins during their run to the Stanley Cup and reunited with his teammates on Monday. Montreal will already be shorthanded on Tuesday as C Petteri Nokelainen and LW Travis Moen have been ruled out with upper body injures. LW Rene Bourque, who scored for the first time with Montreal in Saturday's 3-1 win over Toronto, is expected to play on Wednesday despite being plagued by flu-like symptoms.
OVERTIME:
1. Despite being Original Six clubs, the Red Wings and Canadiens are infrequent rivals. Detroit has won four of the last five meetings dating back to 2004.
2. All-Star G Carey Price has not fared well versus the Red Wings, winning just once in four outings.