The Detroit Red Wings won their second game under new head coach Todd McLellan, defeating the Washington Capitals 4-2. The Red Wings look very different on the ice than in the last days of the Derek Lalonde era. This was the first time the Red Wings had scored four goals in a period. Yes, the roster is the same, but McLellan deploys it differently. Despite losing the first game under McLellan to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 5-2, giving up three goals in the first period, the vibes on the Red Wings are improving.
Perhaps this is due to the message relayed by McLellan after the team’s first practice. “Play f—ing hockey. You’ve played it your whole lives,” McLellan said during his first practice with the team. One player seemingly taking this message to heart is left-winger Joe Veleno. Veleno will turn 25 years old on January 13th. The Montreal, Quebec native had a career-high of 12 goals scored in 80 games played during the 2023-24 NHL season.
The Red Wings finished the Lalonde era with a record of 89-26-23. Their second season under Lalonde ended in heartbreak, as the team missed the playoffs on the last day of the season. The momentum in Motown led some to believe that the Red Wings would get off to a hot start in 2024. However, this did not happen. The Red Wings team seemed to be going through the motions in the last few games before Lalonde was let go.
Veleno and Jonatan Berggren want a new lease on their NHL lives under McLellan. Both wingers have seen their time on ice dip under Lalonde. While it has only been two games, Veleno scored a goal against the Capitals, playing on the first line with center Dylan Larkin and right-winger Lucas Raymond. Drafted by the Red Wings with the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft, Veleno has lacked the scoring touch that the Red Wings brass thought he would bring to the lineup.
Berggren scored a goal and added an assist against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 36 games played for the Red Wings during the 2024-25 season, Berggren has scored six goals and added four assists. After being drafted by the Red Wings with the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft out of Uppsala, Sweden, Berggren has now played 115 games for the Red Wings. In that time under Lalonde, Berggren scored 15 goals and added 13 assists, which are both career-highs during the 2022-23 season.
With 35 seconds left in the third period of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Berggren scored a breakaway goal. Berggren was serving the two-minute minor that the Red Wings had incurred for challenging for goalie interference on the goal that Columbus scored to tie the game at four. Berggren caught a pass from Ben Chiarot and beat Elvis Merzlikins for his first game-winning goal. “Benny with the huge block, and it landed perfectly on Motte’s stick, and he saw me,” Berggren said after the game.
Patrick Kane recorded his 1,300th career point in this game against the Capitals, assisting on a goal in the first period by Alex DeBrincat. Kane was one of the Red Wings who questioned Lalonde’s coaching style. After being brought in as a free agent to take the scoring load off Dylan Larkin in November of 2023, Kane scored 20 goals and added 27 assists in 50 games played during the 2023-24 season. Kane signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings in June of 2024.
Three games are not nearly enough for a coach to implement his systems. Having games every other day does not allow for enough practice time. This leaves it up to the coach and the coaching staff to discuss their hockey philosophy with the team. The Red Wings have five games in the next 10 days. During his press conference introducing McLellan, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said this hire was made for the future.
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