Monday night in Ottawa, the Detroit Red Wings will look to snap their five-game winning streak. Coach Todd McLellan rejected the notion of a "must win" game in his comments to reporters after the team's morning skate. He said there is no such thing as a "don't win" in an 82-game season, so how could a "must win" exist?
McLellan said he wants a "smart aggressive game" from his team and for his players to "rely on each other," not "overcook" the performance by trying to do much. The big decision for the coach going into the game concerned his goaltender. Would McLellan turn to the new option in Petr Mrazek (whose numbers in Chicago are unflattering to put it kindly with an .890 save percentage and 3.46 goals against average in 33 games), or would he turn to one of his familiar options?
He declined to answer that question in his post-practice press availability Sunday afternoon, but on Monday morning, McLellan named Cam Talbot as his starter in net for the evening's game, while Mrazek will serve as back-up, leaving Alex Lyon the odd-man out and healthy scratch.
"Going forward, we'll have a plan to lay out the rest of the games," he added by way of explanation. "We'd like Petr to get a little more time in the net. He's been sharing it in Chicago and after practice yesterday, there was a discussion made that we'll go with Talbs today and move forward from there."
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Even if he doesn't believe in the idea of the must win, McLellan also laid out himself the stakes of the evening's game. "We need to win this game for a lot of reasons," he said. "(1) To stabilize and make sure that the confidence level and the belief level stays where it is. (2) Obviously, the standings are really important and setting up the week ahead."
Even with the current skid, Detroit's wild card aspirations aren't out of reach yet. However, the coming seven days will go a long way in determining whether they are more serious or fantastical. Monday night, the Red Wings take on the Senators in Ottawa. On Wednesday, Detroit hosts the Buffalo Sabres. Then, on Friday the Red Wings travel to Carolina , before hosting the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon. That's one game against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, one against a wild card rival, and two against serious Stanley Cup contenders. It's a stretch that could reinvigorate or extinguish the season.
As the Red Wings look to bust out of their losing streak and get the week off to a strong start, McLellan will look for a bounce-back performance from Talbot, who has given up four or more goals in four of his last five starts. And for the time being, the newly re-acquired Mrazek's second Red Wing debut will wait.
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