Pregame: Red Wings @ Canadiens – 4/9

The Red Wings begin their final road trip of the regular season tonight as they visit the Montreal Canadiens.

Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a win, whether in regulation or overtime. Montreal, meanwhile, can claim the Atlantic Division with a win over the Red Wings combined with a loss by the Tampa Bay Lightning or a point against the Red Wings while the Lightning lose in regulation. So a New Jersey win over the Lightning in regulation and a Detroit overtime/shootout win over the Canadiens gets both teams what they want.

A Detroit loss combined with an Ottawa Senators loss also gets the Red Wings into the playoffs. If the Red Wings earn a point, and either the Senators lose or the Boston Bruins lose in regulation, Detroit is in the playoffs.

In short, the Red Wings control their destiny if they can get a win against a team that they’ve only scored on twice all season.

Jimmy Howard gets the start in net for the Red Wings opposite Carey Price for the Canadiens.

Detroit will remain without Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Jurco, though Pavel Datsyuk will play despite missing the morning skate.

Stupid stat of the day: The Red Wings have been outscored by the Canadiens by a combined score of 26-11 all-time in regular season games in Montreal in April. Detroit is winless in those games.

Game time is 7:30 PM on FSD.