Montreal @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2019 ) Detroit 2, Montreal 1

Ilya Kovalchuk made an impression in his debut with the team and hopes to match that performance in a victory this time around when the Montreal Canadiens visit the NHL-worst Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. The 36-year-old Kovalchuk had an assist, a plus-2 rating, four shots and six hits as the Canadiens dropped a 3-2 decision against visiting Winnipeg on Monday for their sixth consecutive loss (0-5-1) - and fifth by one goal during that span.

Kovalchuk logged 19 minutes, 25 seconds of ice time in his first game since Nov. 9 while with Los Angeles, which terminated the left wing’s contract in December before Montreal signed him to a two-way contract Friday and he played his 898th NHL contest versus the Jets. The Canadiens won’t be looking past Detroit after dropping both meetings at home this season - getting outscored 6-3 - after winning the previous nine matchups and gaining at least a point in 10 in a row (9-0-1). The Red Wings have dropped eight of their last nine games overall - scoring 18 goals combined - after coughing up a two-goal lead in a 4-2 loss at Chicago on Sunday. “We shoot ourselves in the foot for no reason,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told reporters. “We played stupid hockey in the second (period). Our puck management was terrible as the game went along. We won’t get better until we understand that we have to stop beating ourselves. That’s the first step we have to take at some point in order to be better.”

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Detroit, RDS, TSN2

ABOUT THE CANADIENS (18-18-7): Montreal, which is already missing four key forwards with injuries, lost rookie Nick Suzuki on Monday after he collided with Winnipeg’s Tucker Poolman and was forced to go into concussion protocol. Leading scorer Tomas Tatar (16 goals, 37 points) snapped a three-game point drought with two assists and defenseman Ben Chiarot scored twice against his former team to set a career high with seven on the season. All-Star defenseman Shea Weber added an assist Monday to tie center Max Domi and injured right wing Brendan Gallagher (15 goals) for second on the team with 32 points.

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (10-30-3): Right wing Filip Zadina, the sixth-overall pick in the 2018 draft, scored his fourth goal Sunday to push his total to 10 points in 18 games this season and Blashill said he likes the Czech’s progress. “He’s skating well, smart with the puck, he’s holding onto it,” center Luke Glendening told the Detroit Free Press of Zadina. “He just looks confident out there. … He is making plays all over the ice. He has put a lot of work in, that’s for sure.” Forward Tyler Bertuzzi has one of his team-high 31 points in the last five games while center Dylan Larkin recorded five of his 27 in the same span.

OVERTIME

1. Detroit G Jonathan Bernier has given up three goals on 78 shots in two victories over the Canadiens in 2019-20.

2. Montreal G Carey Price, who made 24 saves Monday, is 15-6-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average lifetime versus Detroit.

3. The Red Wings are 1-for-17 on the power play in the last six games and sit 30th in the league on the penalty kill (73.6 percent).

PREDICTION: Canadiens 3, Red Wings 2