The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari gives praise to the Red Wings’ “youth movement” under coach Todd McLellan’s stewardship:
Detroit is the hottest team in the NHL since [McLellan’s, “Play effing hockey!] wake-up call, going 15-4-1. The .775 points percentage is a bit unrealistic to maintain for another two months, but key moves set them up to remain competitive.
That includes elevating 20-year-old rookie Marco Kasper to the top line.
Although Kasper’s plan in the long term is to play center, giving him the chance to play against opposing top players has been great for his development. He is seeing tougher defensive matchups and has been an excellent complement to Larkin and Raymond offensively as well.
Kasper is a fairly simple, north-south player who may lack a bit of dynamism, but he is a reliable and feisty forechecker. He isn’t shy about doing the dirty work that allows his dynamic linemates the opportunities to play with the puck and make the kind of magic that has driven this line’s success.
McLellan also separated the top defense pair of Seider and Edvinsson. They faced the toughest competition of any pair in the NHL because Detroit was being caved in whenever they weren’t on the ice.
McLellan now leans on both to run the show on separate pairs.
Ferrari’s analysis continues, and it’s a good read…
