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Red Wings continue span vs. Original Six with trip to Montreal

Oct 21, 2014 - 3:04 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Red Wings will face yet another Original Six rival, as they shoot for a third straight win in Tuesday's road test against the Montreal Canadiens.

Four of Detroit's five games this season have been against fellow Original Six clubs, with a loss on Oct. 11 against the Anaheim Ducks standing as the lone exception.

After sweeping a home-and-home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs this weekend, the Red Wings improved to 3-1-1 on the season. Detroit boasts a 3-0-1 mark against the original NHL franchises, and the club could have Pavel Datsyuk in the lineup tonight to help chase another win in Montreal.

Datsyuk has been sidelined since suffering a separated shoulder in an exhibition game on Sept. 22, but he could make his season debut on Tuesday. Last season, Datsyuk posted 17 goals and 20 assists despite playing in only 45 games due to various injuries.

The Russian star is questionable for tonight's tilt and fellow Red Wings forward Johan Franzen also could return Tuesday after sitting out the last game with a lower-body injury.

Henrik Zetterberg played a big role in the two-game sweep of the Maple Leafs. The Swedish star posted four assists in Friday's 4-1 triumph in Toronto and recorded the game-winning goal with 10 seconds left in overtime to lead his club to a 1-0 decision in the rematch.

Zetterberg took a crisp cross-ice pass from Niklas Kronwall in the slot and slapped a shot off the right post past Jonathan Bernier to record the only goal in Saturday's game at Joe Louis Arena.

"It was a hard-fought game for both teams," said Zetterberg. "Goaltending was really good on both sides."

Jonas Gustavsson posted a 30-save shutout in his first start of the season in place of starter Jimmy Howard, who was unavailable due to a sore groin. Peter Mrazek served as the backup on Saturday, but Howard expects to return to the starting role tonight with Gustavsson behind him. Mrazek was reassigned to Grand Rapids of the AHL on Monday.

The Canadiens also will shoot for a third straight victory tonight after downing Boston and Colorado in their most recent outings. Montreal is 5-1-0 this season after making a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals last spring.

Montreal recorded a 3-2 win over the visiting Avalanche on Saturday, as P.K. Subban scored twice and Carey Price stood tall with 32 saves. The Habs, who also received a goal from Alex Galchenyuk, improved to 2-0 at the Bell Centre this season.

The Canadiens scored all three of their goals Saturday in the second period. Subban tied the game with a power-play tally at the 4:13 mark before Galchenyuk scored to make it 2-1 around the midway point of the stanza. Subban's third marker of the season came with just over two minutes left in the period and would stand as the eventual game-winner.

Montreal won the final two games against the Red Wings in 2013-14 to earn a split in the season series. The Canadiens have taken three of the last five encounters overall and two of the past three meetings at the Bell Centre.