Call it a Christmas miracle.

The Canadiens on Saturday night defeated the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in 24 hours, this time convincingly, 5-1 at the Bell Centre. Montreal won its third successive game for the first time this season. The last time that occurred was late last March, when they defeated Seattle, Colorado and Philadelphia — all on the road — by a cumulative total of 11-3.

The Canadiens improved to 14-16-3 and are now 10-7-2 on home ice. And, for what it’s worth, Montreal moved past the Wings into sixth place in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens are now 6-3 since Patrik Laine made his regular-season debut.

But lets put this into perspective — Montreal’s six victories have come against the New York Islanders, Nashville, Anaheim, Buffalo and Detroit twice. Not exactly an NHL Murderer’s Row.

Check back with us again following the Canadiens’ coming six-game road trip, which includes stops in Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas and Colorado.

Our cheap shot of the night: Wings’ head coach Derek Lalonde is the oldest-looking 52-year-old guy we’ve seen in a while.

News you need (Part I): Not only was Canadiens’ goaltender Samuel Montembeault making his ninth consecutive start, he played back-to-back contests for the first time since April 12-13, 2023, when he allowed a combined nine goals in losses against the Islanders and Boston.

News you need (Part II): With two assists on Saturday, Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki now has 201 career assists.

Food for thought: Who do you think will play first for Montreal — Michael Pezzetta or backup goalie Cayden Primeau? Pezzetta has dressed only three times this season, his last appearance coming on Oct. 27. Primeau, meanwhile, hasn’t started a home game this season and hasn’t played since replacing Montembeault in the third period against the Penguins on Dec. 12. Primeau has appeared in 11 games, going 2-3-1, with a 4.70 average and save percentage of .836.

Don’t look now, but: Cole Caufield has only one goal in his last nine games, but still has a team-leading 17 this season.

News you need (Part III): Laine became the the first Montreal player since Yvan Cournoyer in 1970-71 to score eight power-play goals in the first nine games of the season. Laine made it 3-1 in the final minute of the first period.

News you need (Part IV): New defenceman Alexandre Carrier, acquired this week from Nashville for Justin Barron, becomes the 12th player in Canadiens’ history — and first since Laurent Dauphin in 2022 — to wear No. 45.

News you need (Part V): Montreal native Joe Veleno opened the scoring for the visitors at 6:40 of the opening period. It was the third successive game in which he has scored, although he has a modest four goals and six points in 29 games.

News you need (Part VI): This marked only the second time this season (2-11-3) in 16 games Montreal won without opening the scoring.

Most sticks broken on one shift: With the Canadiens on the power play in the first period, Laine’s howitzer from the left-wing circle — where else — shattered Moritz Seider’s stick for the second time in as many nights. Seconds later, Laine’s stick broke. Go figure.

Hit of the night: In the game’s 14th minute, Arber Xhekaj took Andrew Copp into the boards in the Canadiens’ zone. Copp skated gingerly to the bench, his head down, while attempting to shake the cobwebs.

That’s more like it: Twenty-four hours after producing more than 30 shots for the first time this season, the Canadiens were limited to 24 on Saturday. But they also held Detroit to 21 shots, including only 12 over the final 40 minutes.

Slow to the dance: Wings’ goalie Alex Lyon, believing a penalty call was going against Montreal, skated to the bench late in the first period — except the call went against Detroit captain Dylan Larkin, guilty of interfering with Caufield.

Quick stat: Laine had four of the Canadiens’ 12 first-period shots.

With friends like these:Kirby Dach took a puck to the lower body from teammate Mike Matheson early in the second period.

Dumb penalty (Part I): Michael Rasmussen tripped Lane Hutson in the offensive zone in the second period.

Dumb penalty (Part II): Rasmussen in the third period, again in the offensive zone, hooked Jake Evans with 29 seconds remaining on Detroit’s man advantage.

Our two cents: Why is Emil Heineman on the Canadiens’ fourth line? His goal, early in the second period, was his eighth this season and second in as many games. Only Caufield, Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher have more goals on the team.

Next time, decline the penalty: One night after going 0-for-4 on the power play, Detroit again went 0-for-4.

Quick stats: Laine led all players, with six shots. Juraj Slafkovsky had four shots and three hits. Lane Hutson logged a team-high 21:31 — six seconds more than the indefatigable Matheson. Montembeault’s save percentage was .952.

They said it: “We wanted to have a good game at home before the New Year,” Suzuki said.

“I like the direction it’s going right now,” said Slafkovsky, who scored the Canadiens’ opening goal. “The difference is that I’m skating right now. That’s all it is. I’m happy with the way it’s going now. Hopefully, I can bring more and more.”

“I felt not bad today,” Montembeault said. “We do a lot of work off the ice to make sure I’m ready to go every night. Sometimes it’s hard with travel. We played such a good game it helped me to get into it.”

“I’m feeling pretty good about where things are at,” Evans said after scoring the winning goal.