Red Wings Postgame: Johansson Earns His Keep On Defense

The Detroit Red Wings’ playoff chase is over, their games have lost much of their importance, but rookie defenseman Albert Johansson is still competing like everything is on the line.

The young Swedish defenseman, who got his chance when Todd McLellan took over as coach, scored his third goal of the season and was plus-2 to help the Red Wings down the Dallas Stars 6-4 in their last home game.

“It was nice to see him rewarded for his hard work,” said Detroit assistant coach Trent Yawney. “(He) has played very well for us since we’ve been here since Dec. 27 and kind of established himself as an everyday player.”

That’s high praise coming from McLellan’s right-hand man and a coach with a reputation for being a defensemen whisperer. Yawney played parts of 13 NHL seasons as a defenseman and has been with McLellan for a long time. He knows a thing or two about  how to play defense properly.

At a time when changes are coming for the Red Wings, it sounds as if Johansson has done all he can to show he can be part of the solution moving forward.

Johansson’s goal was a quick-release shot that rocketed into the back of the net.

“He does have have a really good, sneaky hard shot,” Yawney said. “You see that in practice…With Albert, the one thing he does really well, and it’s hard for young D (men) to do, is play both sides. ”

Although Johansson is left-handed, he is equally comfortable playing right or left side defense. He is also unbothered if he has to switch in the middle of a game.

“That’s going to be something that will be a notch in his belt,” Yawney said.

Raymond Matches “Z” Feat

With a goal and two assists, Lucas Raymond becomes the first Red Wings player to top 50 assists in a season since fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg did it in 2016-17.

“You look at all of this stuff that Henrik accomplished, it’s very impressive to be mentioned with that,” Raymond said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

More Kane Milestones

Patrick Kane played in his 1,300th game and recorded his 850th assist in the game. Raymond was five when Kane played his first NHL game.

“It’s unbelievable,” Kane said. “He’s big for our team. You see what he does on a game-to-game basis, but just the way he carries himself all of the time. You practice with a guy like that and you just try to soak it in.”

The Red Wings hope to re-sign Kane this summer.