Todd McLellan expects this Red Wings group of players to step it up vs. Ducks Thursday
Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
A specific group of Detroit Red Wings players was called out by head coach Todd McLellan ahead of facing the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
If Todd McLellan knows something, it's about playoff hockey. He's coached the Los Angeles Kings to regular spots in the postseason and is trying to replicate that success in Detroit.
In order to do so, the team will have to buy into McLellan's coaching and his system.
Although lately, they've failed to be tough to play against.
This could be the death knell of the Red Wings' playoff hopes.
Instead of clogging the zone and denying passing lanes, the team has been a pushover in recent memory.
During practice, the team has emphasized what kind of traits the team needs in their game to be successful, after their 5-1 thrashing by the Blackhawks.
The traits the Red Wings need are more grit and more physicality
Alex DeBrincat made a stark comment on the team's lack of edge on the ice in recent games.
"It's a big part of the game, we need to just be more physical and a harder team to play against," said forward Alex DeBrincat following practice on Tuesday. "We're giving up too much, too easily. We need to win our 50-50s in the O-zone and D-zone, and really all over the ice. Just getting back to that work ethic and playing simply will be best for us."
The head coach emphasized the team's size, which suggests that they have been shrinking their game in regard to the size of the team.
The group McLellan is addressing ahead of the game versus the Ducks is the players who fill out the ice with their size. That includes both rookies and veterans in the lineup.
«We're not a small team. It's just sometimes we don't play big,» McLellan said. «But we have some length. We have guys that are long and tall, we have some girth. Those players have to give us more of that."
McLellan is completely right in his criticism of his team. They gave up too much to a Blackhawks team that has been dominant lately but should've been stifled from the start.
The team will need to find grit if they're to make it to the postseason, as it seems the Red Wings lack the edge to make it far as it stands now.
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