Saturday night at the Bell Centre opened with Dylan Larkin's name pouring down from the stands before the Red Wings had even stepped onto the ice.
"We want Larkin." It started as the teams came out, then got louder through the first shift once the puck dropped.
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A Montreal crowd chanting for a Detroit forward in October? It's like walking into a rival diner and hearing the regulars order your cooking by name.
And the Canadiens faithful haven't had much else to shout about at home. Montreal came into tonight 0-2-0 at the Bell Centre and riding a three-game losing streak.
The Detroit forward carries an $8,700,000 cap hit. He has dressed for only two of the club's four games this season.
In those two outings, Larkin has a goal and a power-play assist, respectable but nowhere near enough to drag a 1-3-0 team anywhere.
Red Wings limp into Montreal on a back-to-back with a goaltending problem
It gets tougher. This is the back half of a back-to-back after Seattle beat Detroit 6-3 at home Friday night.
Larkin logged 18:19 in that loss with one shot and went minus-1, held off the scoresheet entirely.
The bigger issue sits in the crease. John Gibson faced 15 shots Friday, allowed five, and gave way to Daniil Tarasov before the night was done.
Gibson's season save percentage sits at .862, a rough return on a $6,400,000 goalie. Shawn Horcoff can't chant his way out of that one.
Detroit's -4 goal differential tells the rest. Todd McLellan is also working without Marco Kasper and J.T. Compher, both on injured reserve, plus Mason Appleton day-to-day.
This is Detroit's first road game of the season. The hostile building came out sounding strangely friendly, at least on the surface.
Martin St-Louis has his own fires to manage. Ivan Demidov sits on injured reserve until at least October 31, and Samuel Montembeault is day-to-day with a lower-body issue.
Montreal has already allowed 19 goals, so a sputtering Detroit attack might find room. Nick Suzuki is doing most of the heavy lifting at the other end with 7 points.
This is the first of four meetings between these Atlantic rivals this season. The Bell Centre gets the Red Wings again on March 28.
Both teams play again Tuesday, with Detroit home to New Jersey and Montreal hosting Buffalo.
Whatever this crowd meant tonight, it gets three more chances this season to say that name to his face.
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Should Kent Hughes take the Bell Centre's Larkin chant as a hint?
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