It’s not very often the Detroit Red Wings shutout a team — especially a tough divisional opponent like the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s what happened Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. The Wings were led by veteran goaltender Cam Talbot, who stopped all 28 shots he faced. Marco Kasper scored his 8th goal of the season midway through the second period, and Michael Rasmussen finished the Bolts off late in the third period with an empty-net goal. Rasmussen would end up hurt after Nikita Kucherov made a punk play and took his skates out from under him. Thankfully the net absorbed Rasmussen and he didn’t go barrelling into the boards.
That’s a quick recap of the game, so here are a couple of thoughts to chew on as the Wings face a tough bill of Western Conference opponents over the next week.
Fact: The Red Wings are 10-4-1 since Todd McLellan took over
The bar was so gosh-damn low after Derek Lalonde was sent packing. When the Wings announced McLellan’s hiring (it was the same announcement as Lalonde’s firing lol), I felt sorta “meh” about it. Nothing against McLellan, I think that was just a result of the team being utter dog[bleep].
McLellan has been a breath of fresh air. He’s unlocked something I think we all knew this team was capable of doing — and that’s playing fucking hockey. You can clearly see that McLellan has the ability to get through to his best players; that’s been clear, just look at the production from Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, etc.
It’s not gonna be perfect, may not be pretty some nights, but it’s at least a competitive product. I think Todd McLellan was a good fit for this team, I only ask — why not hire him sooner!? 😉
Fact: We’re Learning A Lot About Yzerman’s Ability to Draft & Develop
I think Steve Yzerman’s work has been suppressed by a lot of poor coaching, and of course a few miscalculations in the front office along the way. Whatever complaints you have about the guy, you can’t knock him for sticking to his process: Finding good players in the draft and developing them into NHL players on a realistic timeline.
Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper, and Albert Johansson have all played their way into a full-time role on this team. Simply put, this trio has made the team better. Adding to that, you can see the success that’s happening in Grand Rapids — Yzerman’s draft picks have their fingerprints all over that team’s story this season. Oh, and there’s word that prized-prospect D Axel Sandin-Pellikka will be leaving his SHL team after this season to. He will be given every chance to make the Red Wings roster, book it.
Realistic Expectations
As we sit here on a Sunday and talk about the playoff picture, the Wings are still a few points back from being truly “in the hunt,” but it’s close. I think they have shown that the ability to keep up with a wild card race, yet the margin of error is razor-thin. Go on a winning streak, you’re right there in the race — lose a couple in a row, you’re back in the basement. Tough spot.
I am keeping my expectations realistic with this team. Sure, they could definitely get into a wild card spot and maybe compete for five to seven games. Odds are they could miss the playoffs again, though. We’ll see, but my expectations are not playoffs — it’s improvement. This team was so unstable a month ago and now it looks like the support beams are up.
Tumultuous Weeks Ahead?
The NHL Trade Deadline is upon us — March 7. What will the Wings do? I don’t anticipate them being buyers like the Carolina Hurricanes, who acquired star winger Mikko Rantanen. If I had to guess — and it’s really just a guess — Steve Yzerman will make a move or two, but it will be house cleaning items.
My Red Wings fandom is a harmony now compared to a couple of months back. I’m noticing little things that once drove me PANTS-ON-HEAD CRAZY are now improved and watchable. It’s not a great team, but I think it’s a good team. And “good” is a good place for this team to be in the current NHL. There have been a lot of improvements, and I’m impressed by that. I want the Wings to keep building on this, even if they do miss the playoffs.
Have a good week, friends! LGRW