Author: George Malik

Red Wings forward Patrick Kane spoke with WXYZ’s Brad Galli about the team’s turnaround under coach Todd McLellan:

The Red Wings held practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center on Friday, preparing for Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (1 PM EST start on ABC/Sportsnet/97.1 FM). After practice, coach Todd McLellan confirmed that Alex Lyon would start against the Bolts, and that J.T. Compher would return from an undisclosed injury.

The Red Wings posted a video of post-practice remarks from Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin and coach McLellan:

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton provides personnel updates from Friday’s practice, noting that J.T. Compher will return to the lineup on Saturday vs. Tampa Bay, and that Alex Lyon will start, per coach Todd McLellan:

Per coach Todd McLellan, Compher “looks good” to return to the lineup Saturday.  “I don’t know if he came off of IR yet or not, but I talked to him this morning.  He feels good, so I don’t see any reason he doesn’t play,” the coach added.

At Friday’s practice, Compher practiced in a fourth line role between Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren.  Based on McLellan’s post-practice assessment, it seems like a safe assumption that is where he will be for Saturday’s game.

McLellan also tapped Alex Lyon as Detroit’s starter in net for Saturday’s game, while also speaking to the luxury of having two goaltenders simultaneously in strong form.  “I think it’s essential,” McLellan said, of having two reliable goaltending options in the modern NHL.  “Often you have two goalies, [and] one’s maybe not playing as well, so you run the hot one, and you try to get the other one playing again.  We’re fortunate that both are playing well and contributing to the team success.  They play off each other.  They both practice hard.  We haven’t had to go and rescue a goalie yet, if I’m trying to find a word, to recover and rescue a goalie that maybe hasn’t played well and overrun another one.  So that makes the dual goaltender luxury even better.”

The BIG 10 Network posted a 5-minute Twitter video profiling Red Wings prospect and Michigan State University captain Red Savage:

Red Savage grew up around the game of hockey and his biggest mentor has been his dad, Brian, who played in the NHL for 12 years.

After sharing the ice with his brother at his dad’s alma mater, Miami (OH) for two seasons, Red knew that @MSU_Hockey was a place he could take his… pic.twitter.com/MeWsyBHWwe

— Big Ten Hockey (@B1GHockey) February 7, 2025

NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika posted a lengthy column about the Red Wings’ performance under coach Todd McLellan:

“Obviously, I’m not sure any of us really thought we’d be in this position right now,” forward Patrick Kane said after a 5-4 shootout win at the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, “but what a spot we’re in.”

That sets up a huge game Saturday, Detroit’s last before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20. The Red Wings host the Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on national television (1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN).

“Ever since Todd came in, I think we’ve just proved that we’re a good hockey team,” defenseman Moritz Seider said Sunday. “I mean, we knew we had it in the locker room, and we just couldn’t find a spark, and obviously he brought that extra spark, brought us back to life.”

This is the simplest way to explain it: The Red Wings had been stuck in a downward spiral, playing on their heels, losing games, losing confidence. McLellan called them “mechanical.” That’s why he told them to just play [bleeping] hockey.

McLellan jump-started their energy and emphasized aggressiveness, playing to their strengths. Along the way, he made structural adjustments and gave young players more opportunities. Instead of a downward spiral, they’re in a virtuous cycle — on their toes, winning, gaining confidence.

McLellan said Thursday the Red Wings are “pretty close” to establishing an identity.

“I think we can skate,” he said. “I think we can play with pace. Combine that with checking for chances and taking pride in that, seems to be how we’re rolling out wins.”

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to extend their winning streak to 8 games when they play an important divisional game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday (1 PM EST start on ABC/Sportsnet/97.1 FM). When the Red Wings practiced on Friday, it appeared that J.T. Compher would rejoin the lineup, and that Alex Lyon would start against Tampa.

After practice, the Red Wings’ players and coach spoke with the media:

Todd McLellan said Alex Lyon will start in net tomorrow. #LGRW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) February 7, 2025

McLellan also said JT Compher looks and feels good. Expects him to play tomorrow. #LGRW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) February 7, 2025

#RedWings McLellan said Lyon will start tomorrow and he expects Compher to return after missing four games with an injury.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) February 7, 2025

McLellan confirms Alex Lyon will start for Red Wings vs. Lightning Saturday.

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) February 7, 2025

Michigan Public’s Doug Tribou spoke with author and sports guru John U. Bacon about the Red Wings’ resurgence, and here’s what Bacon had to say:

DT: Let’s turn to the NHL. The Red Wings started out the season with just 13 wins in their first 35 games. Then they fired head coach Derek Lalonde and replaced him with Todd McLellan. Since then, Detroit has won 15 of 20 games, including seven in a row. What has McLellan done differently since taking over?

JUB: It’s actually quite simple, and I love it. Derek Lalonde, the previous coach, had them doing all kinds of very strict systems. They’re not called plays in hockey, but systems. Kind of railroad tracks that you have to follow in the offensive zone. So instead of responding and reacting and being aggressive, you’re thinking too much and you’re going too slow. So what did McLellan do? He said, Unleash the hounds. One of his first speeches was, you guys been playing this game your entire life. You know how to play offense. Go do it. And so he let them go.

A book called Let Them Lead, that reminds me of that book. Some high school hockey coach, I think, advocated this. I’m sure [McLellan’s] read it, too, by the way [laughs].

DT: [Laughs]

JUB: But it boils down to a very simple idea. Boils down to: trust your people. He did. These guys can play. The last 20 games, they’re the best team in the NHL. That’s a turnaround.

Continued

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan appeared on 97.1 the Ticket this morning, and Will Burchfield shares some of the highlights of the coach’s interview:

“Initially coming in, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” McLellan said. “You think you know the team and the players, and then when you get here you quickly figure them out. You understand their personalities, how they react to certain situations, how they interact with each other.

“And what I’ve found is, this group has been really hungry. They’ve been willing to learn, willing to work, accept new ways. That’s probably been the biggest difference, is their willingness to take new things on. It’s been a real good group.”

McLellan credits a combination of strategic adjustments and a strengthened “belief system” for the Wings’ turnaround. Detroit, for one, has been more efficient at clearing its own zone, which has led to significantly more shots — and more goals — at the other end.

“From a tactical or structure point, we have changed some things, there’s no doubt about it,” McLellan said. “But we haven’t just blown everything up and said, ‘Here’s how we’re doing it.’ We’ve changed small things, we’ve changed some big things, players have been real receptive.

“The mental part, the believing, the energy level, the camaraderie has been real important for this group. And I give the players credit, they’ve pulled themselves through in that area. They take care of each other, they care about each other and they’re playing for each other.”

I can’t embed the interview, but you can listen to him here.

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen reports that the Red Wings’ various call-ups from Grand Rapids have yielded success in Detroit…and some difficulties for their AHL affiliate:

The Griffins are coming out of their much-needed AHL All-Star tonight when they play a road game against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Grand Rapids leads the Central Division by three points over Texas (Dallas Stars) and five over the Milwaukee (Nashville Predators). But injuries, call-ups and illnesses have caused some struggles of late. They didn’t score a single goal in back-to-back losses to Colorado. It was the first time the Griffins were shutout in back-to-back game since 2016.

It helps the Griffins that the Red Wings sent Shine back to Grand Rapids, and that Carter Mazur is starting to get his timing back after missing most of this season with the injury. Injured Amadeus Lombardi could be back in another week.

Continued

The Detroit Red Wings prepare for their final game before the Four Nations break, a Saturday afternoon matinee game against the Tampa Bay Lightning (1 PM EST start on ABC/Sportsnet/97.1 FM).

Again, Tampa Bay beat Ottawa 5-1 last night, so the standings look as follows this morning, with Tampa’s 29-20-and-4 record sitting 1 point ahead of the Red Wings’ 28-21-and-5 record. Tampa Bay has a game in hand on Detroit, which they will expend on Sunday vs. Montreal.

The Wings took to the ice at the BELFOR Training Center under Little Caesars Arena at 11 AM: