Todd McLellan sounds alarm on Detroit Red Wings: 'Not sure we want to do' hard work
LAS VEGAS — With their playoff odds diminishing as late-season losses pile up, Todd McLellan voiced frustration that the Detroit Red Wings can't seem to get it together.
Their 6-3 loss Saturday to the Vegas Golden Knights marked the ninth time in 11 games that the Wings have come away empty, and at 32-31-6, they've fallen five points out of the playoff picture. The hard work and enthusiasm that lifted the team in January and February is becoming a distant memory as the Wings have wilted in March.
"We have to be honest with each other," McLellan said after Saturday's game at T-Mobile Arena. "We were again tonight between periods. We talk about wanting to be in the playoffs, but we’re not sure we always want to be in shooting lanes. We’re not sure we want to do some things. And I’m not saying everybody. We’re just picking and choosing. Do we really want to do it around the net? Do we really want to get hit by a puck? Do we want to do the board work when it’s hard?
"If the answer is yes to that, from everybody, then we have a chance. If the answer is yet to those questions from 85% of the players, we don’t. It’s as simple as that. We have to keep asking those questions and working on them."
It's a refrain that has come more often from McLellan as games have intensified during the stretch run: Who is willing to pay the price?
"There are some that seem to get hit by a puck a lot," he said. "Then there’s others that just kind of find their way out of it. That’s our job to get them in the lanes and if they’re not willing to get there, then we have to look at who we are. But it’s more than that. It’s not just shooting lanes, it’s net play, it’s board work, it’s line changes. It’s reading and reacting to situations. Some are still gaining experience, some are making the same mistakes over and over, and that’s a little alarming."
The frustration is evident in the locker room, too. The Wings started well in Vegas, scoring the first goal, but then they gave up three before the first period ended, including one with seconds to go that McLellan termed "a lazy, board-work type goal ... that is unacceptable." They made it 3-2 early in the second period, but by the end of that period, the Knights had five goals.
"When you play good teams and give them chances like that, they’re all just going in and it’s frustrating," captain Dylan Larkin said. "It’s hard on our goalies. We had enough offense to win that hockey game. When they got their looks, they capitalized on them.
"They score kind of for free on their power play. We didn’t crumble but they just kept scoring, and we didn’t answer. It’s hard to come in this building and expect to score seven goals."
Since the last time they won consecutive games, on Feb. 23-25, the Wings have a winning percentage of .182, worst in the NHL. They've scored 27 goals in that span (seven of those stem from one game, though) and allowed 40. And now there's just 13 games left to make a push.
"It’s tough," Alex DeBrincat said. "Everybody’s got to come to play. I think we actually had a good start and fell off later in the period, gave them their power play goals and stuff in front. They seemed to get a lot of pucks through from the top. We have to do a better job as forwards and wingers to block those shots and then in front of the net, take away sticks.
"We can’t take any more games off. Every game is a must win now. We have to come into the next game ready to go. It’s tough to win when you give up five, six goals. We have to figure that out."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings playoff chase: Todd McLellan questions team's grit
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