Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings Seven-Game Winning Streak Ended by Sloppy Play

GDETROIT — Even though Todd McLellan’s time as the Detroit Red Wings coach is still measured in days, he saw the San Jose Sharks debacle coming.
After his team downed the Seattle Kraken 6-2 Sunday, McLellan lamented that his team wouldn’t have a practice before meeting San Jose. He saw some Red Wings’ behavior in that Seattle game that worried him.
“We were sloppy in that third (period),” McLellan said. “Gave up quite a bit. We started the (San Jose) game that way. We didn’t break pucks out very well. When we did enter the offensive zone, we wanted to play east-west cross court. Not a lot went to the net. Then you give up the power play or the shorthanded goal. Pardon me. And that really sets you back.”
The end result was a 6-3 loss to the Sharks that ended the Red Wings’ seven-game winning streak and gave them some adversity to think about when they leave on a critical four-game road trip that includes games against Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Philadelphia.
Dealing With Adversity
“Disappointing night for our group,” McLellan said. “New experience for us in our few weeks here. We’ll have a good skate tomorrow, and then I’m anxious to see how we do we carry this with us or do we respond? And if we respond and we do the proper things? I don’t know if we’ll win or lose, but we’ll give ourselves a chance. And if we don’t, then we got a lot of work to do, and I’m excited about seeing that.”
What we are all learning about McLellan is he gives candid answers about what’s happening with his team.
This was the first time McLellan saw Ville Husso play.Â
“I would say that he probably has to find a way to make one of those saves,” McLellan said. “I don’t know which one. And you asked me the question, I gotta answer. I got to tell you that. But if you think, or anybody in here thinks that game was on the goaltending, it sure wasn’t. “
Honesty is part of McLellan’s coaching style.
More of the Same
Just like in the game against Seattle, McLellan didn’t like what he saw from his team against the Sharks.
“(The players are) on the bench and they’re watching things happen, and they can hear coaches barking and they’re saying the same thing,” McLellan said. “And then the next group goes out and does the exact same, behaves the exact same way. So to me, that tells me they weren’t sharp, they weren’t alert, they weren’t prepared to adjust. So that’s how I felt tonight. We lost the special teams battle. Gave up two goals in the first minute of the period, minute and a half of a period. We were ready to have a push in the third period. We won the draw, and arguably two of our best players can’t connect on a pass, and it’s in our net. Just not sharp enough.”
As important as the winning streak was for restoring this team’s confidence, it doesn’t do much beyond getting Detroit back in the race.
Tuesday’s loss, coupled with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 3-2 shootout win against Philadelphia, leaves the Red Wings four points out of the Eastern Conference wildcard spot heading into a road trip where winning games will be a challenge. There are five teams within four points of the Blue Jackets who are on a five-game winning streak.
“Overall, I think we shouldn’t be that concerned,” Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider said. “I know we are a good team. We’ll shake it off. We’ll go to work tomorrow and practice and make sure we’ll tighten things up and get ready for a good road trip.Â