Todd McLellan reveals "remarkable" surprise after Red Wings win 4-2 over Canadiens
The Red Wings righted the ship tonight against the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-1 win, and coach Todd McLellan listed what was his biggest surprise.
Following a sub-par road trip that resulted in only three points earned out of a possible eight, the Detroit Red Wings returned to home ice to face a divisional foe.
They were also hoping to gain revenge on the Montreal Canadiens for the 2-game sweep in 24 hours last month.
As a result of a full team effort, the Red Wings won 4-2 and gained a pair of valuable points in the Atlantic Division standings.
Jonatan Berggren, Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Copp (shorthanded) and Dylan Larkin (power play goal) all scored for the Red Wings as part of the victory.
But as coach Todd McLellan soon revealed, it was a young defenseman who has emerged as his biggest surprise since taking over from the terminated Derek Lalonde on December 26.
McLellan listed rookie Albert Johansson as the biggest surprise he's experienced so far, noting his poise and even fierceness.
Probably the biggest surprise for me to date is Albert. I knew nothing of Albert; we got here and he's kind of parked not he shelf and everyone is playing, and we're trying to figure players out.
I think his rise has been remarkable, unless I underestimated him, and that's on me. He's played steady in all three zones; there's some fierceness in his game. He gets engaged with bodies and battles, and he wins a lot of them; and he's not the biggest guy.
We talk about him all the time in the locker room and we're happy we have him. He's the biggest surprise in my mind.
POLL |
JANVIER 23 | 198 ANSWERS Todd McLellan reveals "remarkable" surprise after Red Wings win 4-2 over Canadiens Has young Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson surprised you this year? |
Yes | 166 | 83.8 % |
No | 32 | 16.2 % |
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