Updated at 8:58 AM: Of Red Wings-related note the morning after Detroit’s 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers:
- The Free Press’s Helene St. James posted her customary morning recap:
“We needed a response after the last game,” [Cam] Talbot said after making 40 saves. “We knew we didn’t play up to our standard that we’ve been setting, and we came out and established our game again.”
That was aided a great deal by a power play that’s scorching: Three goals — from Jonatan Berggren, Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane — on four opportunities in South Florida; 17-for-34 since Christmas.
“That definitely helps when they bury three before the midway point (of) the game,” Talbot said. “That’s pretty unheard of. You have to give them a ton of credit. It’s been so hot lately; they’ve been carrying our team. I thought the PK also stepped up really big.”
Penalty killing, power play and goaltending: It’s the recipe for winning hockey. So was making adjustments after the Panthers forced the Wings to defend most of the first period.
“The win was terrific for our group after what we had against San Jose,” coach Todd McLellan said. “The task was very difficult — I think it was evident that they are the champs for a reason. We needed outstanding goaltending, we needed special teams to get hot. We found a way to scrap our way to a win. It wasn’t pretty, we needed some board work, we needed to block shots, we needed whistles, but it’s a good learning experience for our group and sometimes it’s easier to learn when you win than when you lose.”
St. James spoke with Dylan Larkin as to whether the Wings are glancing at the standings as the Red Wings find themselves in an Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division logjam…
“It’s natural to look at it, but we have to win hockey games,” Larkin said. “When you lace up the skates, Todd talks about that a lot, take care of what you have to do, that’s what we’ve been focusing on. You look at the San Jose game, we were overly confident. So yes, we’re building confidence as a team, but we still have a long way to go.”
2. The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton posted his morning-after-the-game notebook…
[Anton] Lundell’s answer to Berggren wasn’t the only time Florida immediately stemmed Red Wing momentum. After Larkin’s go-ahead power play goal in the second, Evan Rodrigues countered in less than 30 seconds. Those two hasty rebuttals come in the immediate aftermath of a third period against San Jose in which Detroit allowed the Sharks to score within two minutes of each of its two third period goals, putting a major damper on the Red Wings’ comeback effort.
Four ‘response’ goals against in not even three periods feels like a big enough sample to be more than pure anomaly. McLellan has mentioned a few times that his team is prone to wobbles over the course of games, not quite able to keep the gas pedal down for 60 minutes.
In today’s NHL, you can never expect to sustain 60 dominant minutes against anybody, much less the reigning champs. However, those answer goals come across a bit like a reminder that the revitalization under McLellan hasn’t smoothed over all Detroit’s vulnerabilities.
That trend of quick counters against is one the Red Wings will look to cut out in a hurry, but as McLellan told reporters after the game, “Sometimes it’s easier to learn when you win than when you lose.”
3. Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Justin Holl’s ice time on Thursday…
Holl did rebound in the 5-2 win over the Panthers. He played 14:12 and was even.
“He’s a veteran player and he holds himself accountable,” McLellan said. “I know we’re signaling out one individual, but there were many others that, that didn’t play very well the other night and everybody had some sort of conversation, whether it was just a casual skate by or whether it was a sit down.”
Maybe it’s the Saskatchewan in him. McLellan comes from Melville, the same hometown as Red Wings icon Sid Abel. Winters are harsh and brutal there. When -40 degrees is showing on the thermometer, there’s no time for small talk, for beating around the bush. You get right to the point.
He’s in the same boat as a coach who was taking over a sinking ship in the midst of its journey. McLellan doesn’t have time on his hands to wait and see how the wind is blowing. He’s got to get the boat sailing in the right direction and he’s got to do it right away.
…
“Relationships aren’t only when it’s all grand and everything’s good, you’re on big family vacation,” McLellan explained. “Sometimes, the best relationships are at home when things aren’t going real well, kids are acting up, and you and your wife have to discipline or, or provide some guidance for them. It’s no different than being around the team.”
4. And finally, ESPN’s Sean Allen posted a set of power rankings which focus on “each team’s fantasy hockey MVP“:
20. Detroit Red Wings
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 52.27%Moritz Seider, D. With the way the offense has turned around after the coaching change, this answer might be different in a couple of weeks (Patrick Kane?), but for now, Seider returning the top-five defenseman value we hoped for is fantasy MVP-worthy.
Next eight days: @ TB (Jan. 18), @ DAL (Jan. 19), @ PHI (Jan. 21), vs. MTL (Jan. 23)
Seider is playing fantastically well right now. He’s blocking shots, playing physical, he’s stout defensively and he’s generating offense as well. He’s part of the Wings’ granite foundation right now.
Update: Also, from Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff:
The Detroit Red Wings continue to score goals as if the coaching change as transformed them into one of the NHL’s elite scoring teams.
Detroit upended the Florida Panthers 5-3 Thursday to raise their record to 8-2 under new coach Todd McLellan. He inherited a team averaging under 2.7 goals per game and Detroit has averaged 4.1 goals per game since his arrival. The NHL average is 2.99 goals per game. The Red Wings have scored four or more goals seven times.
Maybe more important, Detroit has given up an average of only three goals per game, and have yielded two goals six times.
The Detroit power play produced three more power play goals (Jonatan Berggren, Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane). The Red Wings are 17-for-34 (50%) on the power play under McLellan.
We can say that this is merely the honeymoon phase of McLellan’s tenure, but 10 games does represent 12 percent of the season. With this surge, the Red Wings have climbed back in the playoff race.
