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The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they picked up a point in the standings and stopped their three-game regulation losing skid on Saturday evening against the Boston Bruins.

The bad news is that it was their fourth straight game without a victory, as they were beaten by a 4-3 final score in a shootout at TD Garden. 

Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt scored the only goal in the shootout after neither team was able to find the back of the net during overtime, while Jeremy Swayman stopped attempts from Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat. 

Final in the shootout. pic.twitter.com/Y5WpnQpSBA

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 30, 2025

Connor Geekie scored both goals in regulation for the Bruins, who were playing without both top forward David Pastrnak and defenseman Charlie McAvoy. 

Meanwhile, the Red Wings will lament that they were unsuccessful on all five power-play opportunities they had during the contest, including one in overtime. 

Geekie's two goals put him into a first place tie with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead with 20. He tallied in the second period after a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, deflecting a shot past Cam Talbot following a turnover by Ben Chiarot.

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Lucas Raymond scored a similar goal in the early goings of the third period, deflecting home a shot-pass from Dylan Larkin to knot the score at one. But following a Chiarot high-sticking penalty, Geekie restored the Boston lead with a one-timed shot from the face-off circle past the glove of Talbot. 

The Red Wings drew even late in regulation with Talbot on the bench after a nifty feed from Kane to Michael Rasmussen, who had a tap-in for his second goal in as many games. 

Talbot stopped 17 of 19 shots, while Swayman countered with 24 saves. Both teams will meet again on Tuesday evening at Little Caesars Arena. 

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DENVER —  Brock Nelson orchestrated a masterclass on Saturday at Ball Arena, assembling a two-goal, two-assist performance as the Avalanche dispatched the Montreal Canadiens in a commanding 7–2 triumph. Gabriel Landeskog contributed a pair of goals of his own, while Brent Burns, Nathan MacKinnon, and Devon Toews each added singular tallies to the ledger. Between the pipes, Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 17 of 19 shots to keep his impressive run alive.

Nelson now has 11 points in his last nine games.

Brock Nelson has 11 points in his last nine games.#goavsgo#avs@TheHockeyNews

— Ryan O'Hara (@OHaraSports) November 29, 2025

The supporting cast was no less fantastic: Martin Nečas posted three assists, and Artturi Lehkonen furnished two more. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE ✌️

Brock Nelson scores his second of the game to make it 4-0! pic.twitter.com/M3m5zwmmzM

— NHL (@NHL) November 29, 2025

With the win, Colorado advanced to an imposing and league-best 18-1-6 record. 

Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal. Jakub Dobeš made 29 saves in defeat. 

First Period 

The afternoon belonged, unmistakably, to Nelson. After serving a high-sticking minor at 16:10—killed off with crucial, composed stops from Blackwood, Nelson reemerged not chastened but focused Lehkonen’s diagonal feed from the right flank found Nelson slicing through the neutral zone, where he promptly dispatched a wrist shot past Dobeš’ glove. With that strike, Nelson reached his 600th career point and did it in style. 

Moments later, Nelson appeared to strike once more at least at first glance. As he released his shot, Gabriel Landeskog was sent careening into the crease after a forceful shove from Josh Anderson. Montreal promptly challenged the play for goaltender interference, yet the initial review affirmed that Anderson’s contact was the catalyst for Landeskog’s collision with the net, allowing the goal to stand. 

Josh Anderson and Gabriel Landeskog crash hard into the net, and Brock Nelson buries his second of the night!

After review, the goal was upheld. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/AnYHnq9yWS

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 29, 2025

However, a subsequent and more granular league review revealed a subtle but decisive detail. Landeskog had grazed the puck after Nelson’s release, and the NHL accordingly reassigned credit, awarding the goal to Landeskog. 

Second Period 

Off a clean draw won by Nelson, Burns uncorked a shot through a screen by Landeskog. The goal—Burns’ 264th—vaulted him into a tie with Nicklas Lidström for ninth all-time among defensemen, an accomplishment befitting his longevity and command of the blue line. 

Nelson, however, was far from finished. After getting turned away on the initial breakaway attempt, he watched Nečas recover a rebound before threading the puck back to him at the doorstep for his second goal of the night. In a hilarious scene, fans who couldn’t hear the scoring correction believed Nelson had scored a hat trick and littered the rink with hats. Although it wasn’t a hat trick, it was still a four-point night for Nelson. 

Montreal briefly countered with Juraj Slafkovský’s artful spin-o-rama feed to Matvei Demidov, who deposited a wide-open look to cut the deficit to 4–1. But the Avalanche quickly returned to their dominant wins.  

A chaotic 4-on-4 sequence—both from roughing and holding minors to Oliver Kapanen and Nečas respectively—preceded Colorado’s next brilliant maneuver. With Landeskog lingering near the blue line, Cale Makar lofted a calculated touch pass to allow his captain to exit and reenter onside. Landeskog then drove a low shot off Dobeš’ pads, where MacKinnon buried the rebound for a 5–1 lead.  

Third Period 

2:51 into the third period, Nečas delivered a perfect pass at the doorstep for Devon Toews, who scored his first of the season to make it a 6-1 game. Nearly three minutes later, Montreal responded with a goal when Lane Hutson blistered a one-timer by Blackwood on the power play to inch a little closer. However, the Avalanche responded once again with a power play goal of their own. With Montreal’s Jake Evans in the box for high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon, Landeskog tipped in a rebound for the 7-2 finish. 

Next Game 

The Avalanche take on the Vancouver Canucks at Ball Arena on Wednesday, December 2. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time.  

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It was a special Saturday matinee at Ball Arena in Denver, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Quebec Nordiques’ move to the Rockies, the Colorado Avalanche was wearing its alternate jersey, which is pretty much the Quebec Nordiques’ uniform. For those who grew up watching the Battle of Quebec, it was special to see the Montreal Canadiens taking on their old rivals.

After three consecutive wins, the Habs turned up for the game oozing confidence. They started in promising fashion, taking control early on thanks to a high-sticking penalty to Brock Nelson less than four minutes in. Both of the Canadiens’ man-advantage units produced good looks, but Mackenzie Blackwood stopped every shot he faced during the penalty kill, and even though the Habs led 8-3 in shots, the score remained 0-0.

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The Tide Turned

If Nelson didn’t look good when he took a penalty early on, he more than made up for it by scoring the first two goals of the game for the Avs. Until the second was given to Gabriel Landeskog in the end. The first came on an awkward play. The back of Arber Xhekaj’s blade collided with Alexandre Carrier’s skate, which made the former fall in front of Jakub Dobes, who barely moved as the shot came in in the commotion.

Colorado does deserve some praise, however, as all five players touched the puck before Nelson got it by Dobes—a fantastic buildup. Just under six minutes later, Nelson struck again, but this time he did it while Josh Anderson and Gabriel Landeskog crashed into the net. The goal was awarded, and the Canadiens decided to challenge the decision, to no avail.

After losing that challenge, the Habs looked shellshocked and couldn’t find their rhythm back before the end of the first frame, or before the end of the game, really.

A Well-Oiled Machine

If the Canadiens learned a lot from the Washington Capitals' rugged play in the playoffs last season, they were given a master class in offensive play on Saturday night. Jared Bednar’s men played with such poise and fluidity that at times it looked like they were alone on the ice.

They never had any trouble getting out of their zone; their passes were sharp and accurate, and there was so much chemistry on their play that it made you wonder if they all grew up together playing on the local ice rink.

Nelson might have been the catalyst, but nobody played a bad game for Colorado. The Canadiens’ man-on-man defensive system couldn’t keep up with all the permutations.

By the time the puck dropped on the third frame, the Canadiens were already out of the game and looked ready to head back home. So much so that on Devon Toews’ goal, the Habs were down to four men on the ice because someone forgot to come on as Josh Anderson got back on the bench.

Another Elite Duo?

The rare bright spot for the Canadiens during this game was seeing Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky start to connect on the ice. Not only did the pair produce the Canadiens’ first goal, but they also created other scoring chances, which is no small task against a defence as efficient as Colorado’s.

Élite #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/DrfoeqhH0e

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 29, 2025

It looks like Slafkovsky feels more important on that line than he did riding shotgun with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. While he was the complement to the first-line duo with Demidov, he is now part of a duo; he’s a headliner, and he plays as such.

The sample is still too small to know for sure, but there are some sparks between the two, and one could think that the more they get to know each other on the ice, the better they’ll become.

The Habs’ power play produced another goal in a lost cause when Lane Hutson took a shot from up high, one that he wouldn’t have taken a year ago. I don’t know what was said or done to the sophomore blueliner to make him shoot more, but it’s great that he does it more. It makes the Canadiens’ power play much harder to defend, as he is a viable shooting option. It stops opponents from leaning towards other players who shoot more, like Caufield, for instance.

Cette rondelle avait des yeux 🚀

Laner unleashes#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/uhBgbgWF8e

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 29, 2025

Speaking of the diminutive winger, he registered an assist on that power play goal, which allowed him to keep his point streak alive with a point in a seventh consecutive game.

While getting outperformed like this is never good for any team, the truth of the matter is that four out of six points on this tough road trip is a result anyone would have been happy with before taking off from Montreal. As weird as it may seem to say when the final score was 7-2, Dobes didn’t play a bad game. He finishes his night with an .805 save percentage, but he didn’t really give up bad goals.

The Canadiens will now have a day off on Sunday, and they’ll get back on the ice in Brossard on Monday morning to get ready to take on their divisional rival, the Ottawa Senators.

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