Canadiens defeat Red Wings in overtime

DETROIT -- Alex Galchenyuk scored in overtime and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday.
Galchenyuk scored at 1:42 after Red Wings defenseman Mike Green fanned on a clearing attempt.

"That was an amazing feeling," Galchenyuk said. "It was our last game of the year, and our last game ever in this building, and their fans were so emotional. I wish I had kept the puck, because this was special."
WATCH: All Canadiens vs. Red Wings highlights
With first place in the Atlantic Division wrapped up, Canadiens coach Claude Julien rested several regulars, including goaltender Carey Price and captain Max Pacioretty, who leads Montreal with 35 goals.
"I told our players before the game that I wanted to see us play hard, not go through the motions," Julien said. "We had a lot of young guys in the lineup, and I was very impressed with the way they played."

Montreal (47-26-9) will play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs which begin Wednesday. The schedule will be released Sunday.
"I'm going to go home tonight and enjoy everything we accomplished during the regular season," Brendan Gallagher said. "Tomorrow, we start focusing on the Rangers."
The Red Wings (32-36-13) finish their regular season against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in the final game at Joe Louis Arena.
"It was like a playoff game out there tonight, and I imagine it is going to be even louder tomorrow," Detroit forward Dylan Larkin said. "The fans are really into this, as they should be, and hopefully we can come out and play a little better for them."

Charlie Lindgren made 25 saves for Montreal; Petr Mrazek made 27 saves for Detroit.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead at 10:44 of the first period when Darren Helm intercepted a Montreal clearing attempt and set up Frans Nielsen for his 17th goal. Nathan Beaulieu tied the game at 1-1 at 4:19 of the second, beating Mrazek with a slap shot on the power play for his fourth goal.

Larkin gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 12:51 of the second, beating Lindgren with a slap shot from the right faceoff dot. Forward Matt Lorito, who was making his NHL debut, got an assist.
"I was a big Red Wings fans growing up, so this was pretty special for me," Lorito said. "These are some of the best fans in hockey, and I feel fortunate to get to play my first game in front of them."
Artturi Lehkonen tied the game at 2-2 at 18:30 of the second, knocking a rebound past Mrazek for his 18th goal.

Goal of the game

With the game tied 1-1 in the second period, Lorito slipped the puck to Tomas Tatar when they crossed the Montreal blue line, and Tatar slid a cross-ice pass to Larkin. His one-timer went under Lindgren's glove.

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Save of the game

Steve Ott passed to Galchenyuk on a 2-on-1 in the first period and Mrazek dove across the crease to deflect Galchenyuk's shot with his blocker at 6:25 of the first to keep the game at 0-0.
"That might be the save of the year," Galchenyuk said. "Otter made the pass, and I was in front of an empty net, but he came across and got a piece of it. I said to him, 'Are you kidding me?'"

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Highlight of the game

After Green fanned on his overtime pass, Nikita Nesterov backhanded the puck to Galchenyuk for a one-timer past Mrazek's glove. Galchenyuk has five overtime goals this season.

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Unsung performance of the game

Beaulieu prevented the Red Wings from taking a 3-2 lead midway through the third period, clearing a loose puck out of the goal crease before it could trickle across the line.
"I was lying on my back making snow angels, and he came out of nowhere to take that puck off the line," Lindgren said.

They said it

"This is a wonderful arena where a lot of great things happened. I always loved coming here, and it was a privilege to coach one last game before they move." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien on Montreal's final visit to Joe Louis Arena
"I've known since November that tomorrow would be the game if I stayed healthy. That makes it even more special." -- Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, who likely will play his 1,000th NHL game in the final game at Joe Louis Arena on Sunday

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Need to know

Montreal defenseman Mikhail Sergachev played 17:13 after an emergency recall earlier in the day. He will rejoin Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League for the Memorial Cup. ... Former Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom performed the ceremonial puck drop between Zetterberg, and Jeff Petry. Petry's father, Dan, was a member of the World Series-winning Detroit Tigers in 1984.

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What's next

Canadiens: Game 1 of Eastern Conference First Round against New York Rangers, TBD
Red Wings: Host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; SN1, MSG+ 2, FS-D, NHL.TV)