Showdown with Canadiens Will Be Measuring Stick for Detroit Red Wings' Depth

The Detroit Red Wings are set to take on the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night at the historic Bell Centre in Montreal, and the Original Six matchup pits two teams heading in completely different directions.

On one hand you have a team that is on the rise up. A team that made it to the Eastern Conference Final last season and a franchise who is being picked to compete for the Stanley Cup this season.

On the other hand, you have a team that has been living the life and riding high for the last 23 seasons. A team that has hoisted the Stanley Cup four times during that stretch and a team that is finally being picked to be on the outside looking in.

The matchup comes very early in the season, and it is a showdown that has big implications for the court of public opinion. The showdown is so big, read the next few lines in the voice of Michael Buffer, one of the most famous boxing announcers of all time.

"In the red corner, hailing from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, a team that has made the playoffs for 23 consecutive seasons...the Detroit Red Wings! And in the blue corner, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, a team that has won 24 Stanley Cups, your Montreal Canadiens!"

Make no mistake: Tuesday could be very ugly for the Red Wings, because the Canadiens are white-hot early on in 2014-15. They are scoring 3.00 goals per game, and even though they are giving up 3.33 goals per game, the Canadiens are tied for the best record in the NHL through six games played.

P.K. Subban is showing why the Canadiens gave him a new deal that pays him $9 million a year over eight years, stock in Molson and the rights to several Tim Hortons franchises in Quebec. OK, the last two aren't true, but you get the point.

While Subban has been solid early on, other keys players throughout the lineup have made a difference for the Habs, and they could prove to be too much to handle during Tuesday's matchup.

Tomas Plekanec looks like a new man, and he leads the team with four goals and seven points. Alex Galchenyuk is proving once again how he is one of the best youngsters in all of hockey with six points in six games.

Newly acquired Pierre-Alexandre (P.A.) Parenteau has made himself at home by tallying five points, and feisty 5'9" Brendan Gallagher has shown that last year's emergence wasn't a fluke by tallying a trio of goals and two helpers for five points.

Len Redkoles/Getty Images

Max Pacioretty is another winger off to a nice start with two goals and four points, and David Desharnais has three helpers in six games played.

TL;DR (too long; didn't read), everything is going in the Canadiens' favor so far, and they have a number of players giving them valuable production throughout the lineup.

Head coach Michel Therrien can deploy a number of different line combinations in order to make his team as potent as possible, and on paper a contest with Detroit isn't even close.

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Max Pacioretty	David Desharnais	Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk	Tomas Plekanec	P.A. Parenteau
Rene Bourque	Lars Eller	Jiri Sekac

When looking at the Habs, it is hard not to think of the Red Wings of yesteryear. For years, the above was a staple of the Red Wings, as the team's depth and balance throughout the lineup allowed them to be a contender.

Thus far in 2014-15, it has been a five-man show for the most part, and two of Detroit's main actors are currently on injured reserve.

Jimmy Howard was placed on 48-hour injured reserve, and although he could return on Tuesday, with a sore groin he's a likely scratch for Tuesday's matchup.

Johan Franzen was also added to IR on Monday according to Ansar Khan of Mlive.com due to a groin pull, so he will be inactive against the Habs.

Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson is fresh off a shutout against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he will look to keep the good vibes flowing. He will need to step up in a big way, because a victory and strong performance against a bona fide contender could go a long way.

The other main men of the "Motown Five"—Gustav Nyquist, Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader—are pretty much locks to give it their all against a surging Habs squad, but the game will not be won or lost with them.

On Tuesday night, a goal by Nyquist or some fancy needle thread by Zetterberg can help make a difference, but there's a chance that the totality of the Red Wings' offensive arsenal could push in terms of effectiveness with Montreal's upper echelon of talent.

In order to compete and stand a chance of coming out on top, Tuesday will have to be a night where the remaining depth of the lineup gets involved.

Dave Reginek/Getty Images

Against Montreal, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and Luke Glendening will need to battle like they haven't battled before. The collection of names listed above have talent, but thus far in 2014-15 they haven't been able to play as well as possible.

This group will need to make a statement—on the road— in the Bell Centre against a team that the majority of the hockey world thinks they are inferior to. 

Detroit will need to play to its strengths as well, and that includes a perfect penalty-kill unit, a defense that has allowed less than 2.00 goals per game and taking more shots than they are giving up.

Doing all of this against the Canadiens won't be an easy task, but it’s certainly a situation that the franchise is familiar with. While being an underdog can sometimes be a knock to a team that is working hard, it is a concept and moniker the team takes solace in.

Via Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News:

"

Few analysts are picking the Red Wings to go deep into the playoffs this season — some say they will not make the playoffs at all. The underdog status is fine with the Red Wings, who are beginning to get used to it.

'It's been like that since Nick (Lidstrom) retired,' said captain Henrik Zetterberg (Lidstrom retired after the 2012 season). 'Ever since then we haven't really been a sure thing for the playoffs if you look before the season.'

"

Detroit is an underdog, and it will be an underdog until it proves otherwise. While the Red Wings are still a long shot to make the playoffs, or contend for that matter, they can change the nature of the conservation with a victory on Tuesday night.

While one victory isn't a large enough sample size by any means, a victory against the Canadiens could prove to be a launching point. It could be enough to show the critics that the Red Wings shouldn't be counted out so quickly, and internally it could become a moment that allows the team to pick up some momentum heading into the first full month of the season.

Stats via NHL.com.