Three of the past four games for the Detroit Red Wings have yielded discouraging results, the most recent being a 5-1 setback at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who led 3-0 at the end of 20 minutes on Tuesday evening.
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Tonight, they have a chance to avenge their setback from Saturday evening against the Philadelphia Flyers, who raced out to a 4-0 lead at Little Caesars Arena and later withstood a late third-period rallying attempt by Detroit.
Head coach Todd McLellan, who has repeatedly emphasized the need for the club’s leadership to step up at such a critical time in the season, once again echoed those sentiments following Thursday morning’s skate in Philadelphia.
“We, like any other team, went to Training Camp and put the foundation into place, and worked on our game all the way through to get to this spot in the season,” said McLellan. “What we have in front of us is an opportunity, and it’s up to us to seize it or give it it away.
“To get that done, you have to have good leadership. Now, when I talk like that, I’m not just talking about the players; it comes from me too, and the rest of the coaching staff and everybody in the organization.
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McLellan emphasized that the leadership needs to come from all areas of the room, not just the most high-profile players and stat leaders.
“Once the equipment is put on and the game starts, we need guys to step up,” he said. “Leadership shows up in a lot of different ways; it’s not just the vocal guy in the locker room, although that’s important. It’s not just the best player scoring goals, it’s the shot blocking, the taking a hit to make the play (guy), that’s all forms of leadership. The teams that get through have really good leadership at this time of the season.”
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Going into their game against the Penguins, the Red Wings emphasized playing with greater urgency and desperation while avoiding the kind of poor decision-making that can come with it.
“We’re Sticking Together”: Red Wings Remain Optimistic Despite Recent Slide
However, they found themselves not only trailing by three goals after the first period but also being outshot by a 14-5 margin.
In addition to reiterating the need for the club’s leadership to step up its game in the remaining eight games, McLellan also noted that the team’s structure should already be ingrained by this stage of the season.
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“If playing with urgency negatively affects our structure and what we do, then we’ve probably done a poor job of putting it in play,” McLellan continued. “That’s why you go through all of these exhibition games, you go through the first 60, 70 games, because you rely on your structure when it counts. And the urgency should already be there in your game, and then you take your chances.
“There’s not much that’s going to change between now and the end of the year for many teams.”
The Red Wings battle the Flyers beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET, and a much better start than what they’ve shown in three of their last four outings is a necessity.
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