DETROIT (AP) — Elmer Soderblom scored a third-period goal in his NHL debut, Ville Husso made 29 saves and the Detroit Red Wings won in Derek Lalonde’s first game as a head coach, beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 on Friday night.
Soderblom, a 2019 draft pick, played in the Swedish Hockey League the past two seasons. He’s the tallest player in franchise history at 6-foot-8.
Husso, acquired from St. Louis in a trade during the offseason, had his fourth shutout.
Michael Rasmussen had an empty-net goal and two assists. Olli Maatta also had an empty-netter.
Lalonde, Tampa Bay’s former top assistant, replaced Jeff Blashill after the Red Wings failed to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Jake Allen made 37 saves for Montreal. The Canadiens opened at home Wednesday night with a 4-3 victory over Toronto.
The Red Wings peppered the net in the opening period, outshooting the Canadiens 25-10, and held a 34-18 advantage after two periods but neither side could break through.
Detroit finally ended the scoring drought when Rasmussen came from behind the net and tried to jam the puck past Allen, who made a pad save. Soderblom converted the rebound at 2:33 of the period.
Husso made a sparkling glove save against Josh Anderson on Montreal power play midway through the period.
NOTES: Montreal D Mike Matheson is expected to be out eight weeks due to an abdominal muscle strain. … The Red Wings’ 25 shots on goal during the first period were their most in any period since they had 26 on Dec. 13, 2010, against the Los Angeles Kings. … Lalonde became the fourth consecutive head coach to win his Red Wings debut, joining Dave Lewis (2002), Mike Babcock (2005) and Blashill (2015).
UP NEXT
Canadiens: At Washington on Saturday night.
Red Wings: At New Jersey on Saturday night.
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