MLive’s Ansar Khan reported that Red Wings coach Todd McLellan had to tell his charges to “Don’t let your [bleeping] habits slip!” at the end of Thursday’s practice, and McLellan explained why his mini-camp commentary got a little snippy:
McLellan didn’t feel Thursday’s practice was quite as energetic as the previous two workouts.
“First two practices were better,” McLellan said. “That happens. The schedule in the NHL is so compact, you never get three practices in a row. There’s usually a day off in there. I anticipated it (less energy) a bit. We shortened it up a bit. I had to bark a few times, but we didn’t skate near as much as we did the last few days and that was planned.”
McLellan also offered this take on tonight’s Four Nations Face-Off final:
McLellan felt Thursday’s USA-Canada 4-Nations championship game brought all hockey fans into the tournament emotionally.
“We’re going to see a hell of a game and we’re all going to be watching, and that’s a good thing, too,” McLellan said.
According to Kulfan, Lucas Raymond will practice with the Red Wings tomorrow, but Dylan Larkin won’t rejoin the team until Saturday’s matinee against Minnesota (12:30 PM EST start on ABC/97.1 FM).
