Following an extended pregame ceremony, the Original Six rivals played a scoreless opening 20 dominated by Allen. The Canadiens netminder made 25 saves in the stanza to keep Detroit off the board. The deadlock persisted through 40, with both goaltenders keeping their clean sheets in the middle frame. Shots were 9-8 for Detroit in the period.
It was Elmer Soderblom who broke the tie for the Red Wings at 2:33 in the third. The rookie winger beat Allen in the low slot off a rebound for his first NHL goal in his first career game to make it 1-0. The Canadiens tested Ville Husso 11 times in the final frame but could not get past the third-year NHLer. Michael Rasmussen and Olli Maatta added a pair of empty netters in the game's final 61 seconds to seal the win Allen ended the night with 37 saves. The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Washington to take on the Capitals.
