The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed an afternoon notebook article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ in-the-playoff-picture status:
The Wings are now 14-4-1 under McLellan since he arrived Dec. 26. They are six games above NHL .500 (27-21-5) and with 59 points, are only one point from third-place Ottawa in the Atlantic Division. Don’t expect the attitude to change in the locker room despite the surge up the standings, [coach Todd] McLellan said.
“They’ll know that,” McLellan said of the Wings’ place in the standings. “I’ve been trying to get them to focus on one day at a time, but they know where they are and they know what they’ve done to climb back in. But by no means are we going to walk into the locker room (Tuesday) and say, Look where we are and what we’ve done’. We’re going to focus on rest, getting better and getting prepared to play against Seattle and not looking further than that.”
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The contributions of young players such Marco Kasper, Albert Johansson, Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and Elmer Soderblom during this win streak, and the for the past month, has been eye-opening. They’ve seamlessly entered the lineup, and the Wings have become the better for it.
All the while, veterans such Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, DeBrincat and goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon have thrived.
“The youth has invigorated the older players, and the older players have embraced the youth,” McLellan said. “That doesn’t always happen on teams. They can be divided at times. But as long as the youthful group continues to provide what they have, and it keeps the older ones honest, it’s a real good mix right now.”
Coach McLellan lauded the Wings’ embrace of their goaltenders as well:
“And you need two in the NHL to win, you can’t just ride one,” McLellan said. “The games are too intense and there’s (high) volume shooting, and the travel. You can see what we’re going through right now (on a long road trip). To have both of them playing the way they are is a good thing. But often that’s a reflection of the group, too. The team around them is doing things they need to do, whether it’s sacrificing around the net, or blocking shots or whatever it may be. It’s usually a group effort. I like the way the group is complementing each other.”
Continued (paywall)
