Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan spoke after practice on Wednesday and identified what the club must do to maximize their postseason chances in the midst of this disappointing stretch of play and with only four games left.
It’s been a rough stretch for the Detroit Red Wings, who have slipped further out of the playoff race after once holding a 12-point cushion above the cutoff in late January.
Their usual March struggles resurfaced, as they dropped several winnable games, including multiple losses at Little Caesars Arena.
They’ve now lost three straight, including a defeat to the Eastern Conference–worst New York Rangers, as well as consecutive losses to the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, games in which they allowed late, back-breaking goals in regulation.
Time is quickly running out for the Red Wings, who are now three points back of the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining, beginning with Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Head coach Todd McLellan, who has previously spoken about the need for the club to forge an identity playing with pace and poise, mentioned the need for resilience as a trait the club needs over its final four games.
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“We’ve used the term ‘resilient’; our identity shouldn’t change from what it is," McLellan said following Wednesday's practice. "If we’re all over the map, we should play with some pace, play with some poise—that’s when we’re playing well. I thought we played with pace last night and we had some poise last night, but that reliability and that mental fortitude—I think is the word I used earlier—that has to show up."
"There were signs of it last night," he continued. "We get scored on two and a half minutes in, obviously; in the past, like the Minnesota game, that turned into two, three, four goals against, if I remember correctly. Last night, it didn’t do that—we stuck with things."
Following a turnover behind the net by Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the Blue Jackets struck first early in the opening period to take a 1-0 lead. But Detroit didn't wilt, and soon knotted the score and took leads of 2-1 and 3-2 before ultimately falling 4-3 in a shootout.
"We have to play to our identity, pace, and poise," McLellan said. "And then we have to have that resiliency that we’re proud of during the year, and it’s gotta be there.”
The Red Wings have shown they’re more than capable of being one of the NHL’s better teams, as evidenced by their strong December and their position in the standings in late January.
Now, however, their backs are against the wall, facing the reality that they likely need to win out while hoping their competition in the East begins to falter.
From this point on, all the Red Wings can do is follow McLellan’s call to play to the identity that fueled their earlier success and let the rest take care of itself.
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