Red Wings Rumblings
Well, the Todd McLellan era is off and running in Detroit. We’re two games into his tenure as bench boss and the Wings are 1-1-0. What conclusions can we draw so far? In my opinion, not many. Detroit got their asses handed to them by Toronto in McLellan’s first game, but I can’t put any real stock into that game. The guy had literally been hired the day before and had just one practice with his new team.
Last night, though.. That was an interesting and encouraging game to watch. The Red Wings put up one hell of a fight against Washington and played one of their most complete games in a long time. That would earn them a 4-2 win. It’s very easy to see where McLellan excels that Derek Lalonde did not. There’s real passion behind his message and style of coaching, which was on display at practice over the weekend when McLellan gave his team the simple yet brash message to “play fucking hockey.” Who knows, maybe talking like that (and actually talking to his players) will spark something for this roster. All I know is that I didn’t see the team crumble like a newspaper when they held a multi-goal lead against a good team last night. I don’t need to see a playoff contender at this point, all I need is steady improvement. So far so good.
No coach is perfect, they all have their bad tendencies. The hope is that the good outweighs the bad, which isn’t something the Wings have been fortunate enough to have in a very long time. What really matter is that this developing roster has a leader behind the bench who can help these players excel while holding them accountable when the going gets tough. It’s just two games, but I feel much better now than I did say two or three weeks ago.
Last night’s game against the Capitals had a pair of huge milestones for two NHL greats. Patrick Kane picked up his 1,300th point, becoming the 2nd US-born player to reach such a milestone, and Alex Ovechkin continued his ascent to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record with career number 870.
World Juniors
Axel Sandin-Pellikka continues to kick ass at the 2025 WJC. He’s currently in a three-way tie for first in scoring with seven points (4-3–7) in just three games. Some highlights from Team Sweden’s win over the Swiss:
Meanwhile, Team USA and Trey Augustine were handed a loss by Team Finland. It was a pretty ugly game for the Americans, but the bright side is that Augustine DID make 40 saves, so it really wasn’t his fault.
NHL Stuff
Apparently the Dallas Stars are in hot water with the NHL. According to a report by the Athletic, the team held an optional practice during the holiday break, which is a no-no. I would be SHOCKED if anything came from this.
That’s all for now, folks. Have a good Monday. The Red Wings will wrap up the month of December tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. Let’s finish the month on a good note!
