Red Wings And Canadiens Close Season's First Half

The Detroit Red Wings will try to head into the NHL All-Star break on an eight-game winning streak and stay atop the Western Conference when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (ET).  It's the only contest on the schedule before the league takes a few days off to hold its annual all-star tilt that is set for Sunday at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place.

The Red Wings (33-15-1) beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Monday for their 17th straight home victory and continue to lead one of the most competitive divisions in hockey. Detroit, St. Louis and the Chicago Blackhawks all reside in the Central Division and are the three teams with the most points in the West.  However, the Blues and Blackhawks are relegated to the fourth and fifth spots in the conference and would square off in the first round of the playoffs if the postseason started today.

While they own the NHL’s best home record, the Red Wings are simply average on the road with a 13-13 mark.  Of their past seven consecutive wins overall though, four were decided in a shootout and another ended in overtime.  The ‘under’ also cashed in every one of those games.

Meanwhile, Montreal (18-21-9) has dropped three of four at home and will try to get back on track there following a two-game road trip.  The Canadiens split road games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins last Friday and Saturday, and they will be facing Detroit for the first time this season.

The teams met only once last season, with the Red Wings winning 4-2 at home.

In other league news, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin was suspended three games without pay on Monday for a charging incident against Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek in a 4-3 overtime loss.  Ovechkin started serving the suspension Tuesday against the Bruins but would have been eligible to play in Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game before he opted out of the event.

The Capitals find themselves in a competitive race for one of the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.  They were sitting in the final spot going into Tuesday’s action but trailed the Florida Panthers by just one point for the lead in the Southeast Division.  Passing the Panthers would vault Washington into the No. 3 spot.

Defending Stanley Cup champion Boston and the New York Rangers appear to be the clear favorites in the East right now as the only two teams in the conference to reach 30 wins.  The two division leaders just faced each other last Saturday, with the Rangers winning 3-2 at TD Garden in overtime.

The Bruins bounced back though with a 6-5 shootout victory on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.