Of Red Wings-related note this afternoon:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of the Red Wings coach and players’ comments as stated after last night’s 3-2 shootout win over Edmonton:
“I didn’t think we had enough players going and challenged them between periods,” McLellan told FanDuel Sports Network. “All we had to do was find two or three more in the second period and maybe two or three more players in the third and scrap our way to a win.
“But we needed great goaltending, which we got. And we needed some good penalty killing, which we got. And the opportunities we got in the second half of the game we buried. The first half, we missed nets on some of our chances, didn’t find a way to finish. But good night for our group.”
The Red Wings (25-21-5, 55 points) have won four in a row and are 12-4-1 under McLellan. They are only two points out of the wild card spots that Tampa Bay and Columbus currently occupy. They visit Calgary Saturday in the second stop of their four-game trip (10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).
“We’ll take any win we can get right now,” McLellan said. “As we win no matter how we do it I think we feel better about ourselves. But we do know we have to be better than we were tonight for the next 60 minutes in Calgary, but we’re not going to over-critique a win.”
2. The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton discussed the Wings’ road-heavy schedule over the final half of the NHL season:
Of the 31 games left on the schedule, 18 will be away from the friendly confines of Little Caesars Arena.
If Detroit is going to emerge from the stretch run with a playoff berth, the Red Wings will have to find a winning formula on the road. After the win over the Oilers, coach Todd McLellan offered an insight as to what that could look like.
When asked what it takes to win on the road in the modern NHL, McLellan told reporters, “I think you have to be prepared to start, because you can lose games quickly on the road with momentum, fans, energy in buildings, having to play back-to-back…So your starts, your health, and your rest is important on the road, but then you have to understand game management. You’ve got to pick your spots on when to go, when not to go, and you have to win games in different ways. You gotta sometimes outscore your mistakes; sometimes you gotta check your way there. And if you can do those, you give yourself a chance.”
3. And Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen took note of Alex Lyon an Cam Talbot’s play under coach McLellan:
Alex Lyon’s 45-save performance to help the Detroit Red Wings post a come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers is a reminder of how much goaltending has bolstered the team this season.
Lyon gave up two goals in 15 shots in the first period, and then blanked the Oilers on 30 shots over the final 45 minutes to carry Detroit to a win that raised the team’s record to 12-4-1 under new coach Todd McLellan.
Of the 17 Detroit games under Todd McLellan’s command, the Red Wings have given up two or fewer goals 11 times. The team is 4-0-1 in its last five, while giving up eight goals. That’s a 1.60 GAA. Improved defense has probably played the biggest role, but Detroit’s goaltending has primarily been efficient since McLellan took over.
Both Detroit goalies (Lyon and Cam Talbot), own .907 save percentage, above the league average of .902.
