Detroit Red Wings left wing Thomas Vanek (62) skates with the puck as Montreal Canadiens center Torrey Mitchell (17) defends in the first period at Joe Louis Arena.Rick Osentoski
Thomas Vanek scored late in the second period and Jared Coreau earned his second shutout, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
Detroit won consecutive games at home for the first time since starting the season 4-0 at Joe Louis Arena as part of its 6-2 start. The Red Wings began the day in last place in the Atlantic Division.
The Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens had won five of their last seven games.
The 6-foot-6 Coreau, the tallest goaltender to play for the Red Wings, stopped 18 shots to improve to 5-1-1 in his first season with Detroit. He signed with the team in 2013 and played in the minors until getting a chance recently because Jimmy Howard is on injured reserve and Petr Mrazek is struggling.
Montreal star Carey Price made a spectacular save late in the first period, using his glove to deny Andreas Athanasiou on a breakaway, and finished with 19 stops. Price, who has lost six of his last nine starts, has a losing record since starting 10-0 this season.
Vanek extended his point streak to a season-high six games, redirecting Danny DeKeyser's shot past Price with 1:36 left in the second. The veteran stood in front of the net, obstructing Price's vision as he competed for position with Montreal defenceman Alexei Emelin.
The 32-year-old Vanek has a team-high 12 goals and is averaging almost a point per game in his first season with the Red Wings. They signed him to a $2.6 million, one-year deal after he had 41 points in 73 games last year with the Minnesota Wild.