Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin discussed the team’s improvement under new coach Todd McLellan, who was announced as head coach on December 26. Since then, Detroit has improved to 22-21-5 from 13-18-4 and is currently seventh in the Atlantic Division. They are only five points below the third-placed Boston Bruins.
The Red Wings lost three consecutive games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers, getting outscored 11-3. However, they bounced back in a 4-2 win against Montreal Canadiens.
Talking to the media after the game, Larkin pointed to McLellan’s focus on strong starts.
“Since Todd has come in, we’ve focused on our starts.” Larkin said, “We had a good start tonight, and he challenged us after the first to follow it up in the second. It’s been a roller coaster a little bit too much and I thought tonight was much more stable. We played much better for 60 minutes.”
Larkin leads the team with 21 goals and 24 assists. Lucas Raymond is the team’s leading scorer, with 52 points and 33 assists. Detroit’s power play is third in the league, at 28.3%. However, their penalty kill remains a concern, ranking 31st among teams.
Todd McLellan’s win streak as Red Wings HC
Todd McLellan’s debut as Red Wings head coach started with a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But following that, he helped the Red Wings achieve seven straight wins. This included big wins against the Washington Capitals (4-2) and the Winnipeg Jets (4-2). The win streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Red Wings defeated the Canadiens with an early lead
The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadiens with an early lead in Thursday’s game. Jonatan Berggren scored first for Detroit at 13:00 of the first period with a snapshot from the right circle. Alex DeBrincat added a second goal at 19:56, scoring his 20th of the season from a tight angle.
Andrew Copp extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second period with a shorthanded goal after Simon Edvinsson blocked a shot. Montreal’s Kirby Dach responded at 5:29 with a wraparound goal to make it 3-1.
Dylan Larkin, playing his 700th NHL game, scored a power-play goal at 7:50, restoring the three-goal lead. Kaiden Guhle pulled one back for Montreal at 11:06, but Detroit held on for the win. Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Detroit Red Wings.
