MONTREAL - As strong as their goaltending has been and as well as their defense has played, the Detroit Red Wings' lack of firepower gives them little margin for error.

The Red Wings, behind the terrific play of Jimmy Howard, were trying to hang on in the third period Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens. But their inability to get a second goal proved costly.

Alex Galchenyuk scored with 3:09 remaining in regulation and David Desharnais converted 56 seconds into overtime to give the Canadiens a 2-1 victory at the Bell Centre.

"It is (tough). It is frustrating," Howard said. "You're 21/2 minutes away from getting two points and you end up losing in overtime. But they've been on fire offensively as of late and I thought we did a good job on their top lines."

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Howard gave the team a chance to win, which is all you can ask for.

"We haven't given up many goals but we haven't scored many goals either," Babcock said. "They're a team that scores a lot. They have good depth up front and skilled centers. They got two guys on the back end that can just shoot bombs in (Andrei) Markov and (P.K.) Subban, so they're going to score some goals."

Are the Red Wings (3-1-2) going to score more goals? They're averaging only two per game, putting much of the onus on their goaltending - Howard made 34 saves on this night - and a defense that has been better than some anticipated.

"It's all right, it'll come if we continue to keep working the way we are out there," Howard said. "We're doing a lot of great things. If we can just stick to it and continue to play the puck will start going in a lot more."

Getting Pavel Datsyuk back will help. He assisted on Henrik Zetterberg's second-period goal and appeared to score on a spectacular backhand shot from the slot in the third, only to have the would-be goal disallowed because officials ruled Justin Abdelkader initiated contact with goalie Carey Price in the crease.

It was Datsyuk's first game since he suffered a separated right shoulder in the preseason.

"When you miss as much time as Pav has, you miss (the preseason), it's going to take you some time," Babcock said. "He's a talented, talented guy but it's still going to take you time to become what you're capable of being."

It will also help if the power play can get jump-started. The Red Wings had three chances before the midway point of the second period but failed to score. They're 2-for-24 (8.3 percent).

"We got to get our power play fixed up," Babcock said. "I liked lots of things about it but the bottom line is we haven't gotten much result from it. It's confidence. You got to earn the right to feel good about yourself and when you execute and it goes in you start building confidence. Right now it's kind of a little mental block. We got to get over it."

Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall felt his team backed off a little too much in the third, when the Canadiens held a 13-5 edge in shots.

"We didn't really go after them the way we'd like to," Kronwall said. "But in saying that, Howie's playing strong in front of the net and it felt like we were in good shape."

Until Galchenyuk tied it on a wraparound.

"It was a shot by (Alexei) Emelin from the point off the side of the net," Howard said. "It got tied up between (Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey) and Galchenyuk before it went to the back boards. Q ended up breaking his stick and landing on my leg and then I tripped going back to the post. (Galchenyuk) got to the puck quick and made a nice play."

As for Desharnais' goal, Howard said, "It was an absolute cluster you-know-what. Once again, another point shot (from Subban). Montreal's forwards do a great job of getting to the net and creating havoc."

The outcome might have been different if officials didn't wave off Datsyuk's apparent goal with 8:09 to play in the third.

"I saw Abby go to the net. I thought it was a heck of a play," Babcock said. "Abby ends up with his foot in the paint but Price definitely initiates contact. ... What are you going to do? You're supposed to allow the goalie to play. He initiated the contact himself."

Said Zetterberg: "Great move by Pavel when he drives the net. A goal like that is tough to wave off. That's why we have players like Pavel."

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