There’s a whole lot of NHL season left, and the Detroit Red Wings still have a lot to prove.

But when the Red Wings arrived in Montreal for a Saturday night tilt against the Canadiens, it was perhaps their best test yet for how they will handle everything the second half will throw at them. They passed it with flying colors.

In a 4-0 shutout over their division rival, the Red Wings turned in a 60-minute effort that had a bit of everything. Their stars produced. Their goaltender was lights out. And perhaps most importantly, they limited the drama late, not letting the Canadiens back in despite some 6-on-5 push.

The win moved Detroit into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division, for now — Tampa Bay is just one point back with three games in hand. More importantly, though, it showed their mettle in a high-stakes game in a tough environment, the latest sign of their growth under Todd McLellan.

Here are five thoughts on their performance.

1. John Gibson was outstanding once again for the Red Wings. His red-hot December drew plenty of attention and nearly halfway into January, he hasn’t slowed down.

In fact, he’s picked it up even further. After a 27-save shutout in Montreal, Gibson has stopped 111 out of 117 shots in January — a .949 save percentage through his first four starts this month.

His biggest save Saturday came on Montreal’s first shot on goal, just over five minutes into the game, when he stoned Oliver Kapanen on a two-on-one. In what was a tight-checking game from the outset — the teams combined for two total shots on goal in the first 10-plus minutes, despite plenty of blocks, misses and a pair of posts — keeping that puck out of the net was huge.

The Red Wings and Canadiens are pretty evenly matched on paper. But in a goalie matchup between Gibson and Canadiens rookie netminder Jacob Fowler, who is having a strong season, the veteran won the battle.

2. Just as important as Gibson holding down the crease was the Red Wings’ best forwards delivering.

Both Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond had quiet Decembers at 5-on-5, leading to their line being split up this week. Since the start of that experiment, the Red Wings have won three straight. Both players scored Saturday.

Granted, Larkin’s goal came on the power play and Raymond’s came when a James van Riemsdyk dump-in took a favorable bounce off a stanchion, leading to an open net. But Raymond was dangerous all night, hitting two posts before scoring, and has four points in his last three games.

Meanwhile, Alex DeBrincat kept pace with Larkin for Detroit’s goal-scoring lead with a one-timer from the slot that made it 3-0, and acted as a functional dagger.

What’ll be interesting is how the Red Wings proceed with their lines going forward. There’s certainly no reason to abandon something that’s working.

In addition to Raymond’s goal Saturday, his line with van Riemsdyk and J.T. Compher was on the ice for three Red Wings goals , and two more earlier in the week against Ottawa. That combination seems to really mesh. The line of DeBrincat, Patrick Kane and Andrew Copp may not be quite as hot as it was through most of December, but both DeBrincat and Copp scored again Saturday, with Copp getting a late empty-netter.