Dylan Larkin, Nate Danielson, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs. CHI | Nov. 9, 2025

of that performance. Yeah, I mean not good enough. um starts with the face off which I take most of the time and not winning them and and uh we’re going down 200 feet and and that’s on me and and um got to win got to win the first battle of the the two minutes and last year when when we were good this year even when we we had a good you know going good we were winning those draws and and attacking and and uh getting the kill on the on their heels and Um, I don’t want to make too much out of it. It’s uh not good enough right now, but we have good uh we have a good power play and we have the personnel there. We’ve showed it um not just over a few games, but over years and uh we showed that that we can be good. We just got to um uh figure it out when we go back when we go over the boards, we got to go over with a purpose. And um you know, I find right now we’re uh you know, drawing a lot of the penalties and might be a little a little tired when we go out there, but when we’re tired, we still got to got to attack and and uh you know, makes that puck even more valuable. Dylan, even at even strength from up top, it looks like you guys are a bit out of sync. How do you see it? Um, I mean, I see it as we’re just um, I mean, we have chances. Yeah, it was Vegas, we didn’t have many chances. Um, the last two at home here, we’ve had chances. I thought tonight we didn’t give up much. We just lost a special teams battle and um, we have look after look. I have back two back doors and two nights and I zero goals to show for that. That’s that’s that’s on me, you know. That’s that’s uh people look to me to to score and and look to to the big guys to score and and I think um I would I would point the finger at at myself and got to put the puck in the back of those key situations and uh off of good plays as well. How did you feel about Nate Danielson’s debut today? Yeah, I mean I thought he uh uh got more comfortable as the game went on and and um we know Danny well. He’s he’s he’s been in the organization for a while and um you know big uh congratulations to him and his family and and uh you know something that’s welld deserved and and when he came up and and came into the lineup today guys were happy for him and and um you know I thought he uh he looked you know we know he’s got the skill and and can skate and um I thought as the game went on he adjusted to the pace a little better. 45 shots today. I mean, when the when the chances aren’t going in like that, like what are the ways that you guys kind of can can simplify and kind of try to snap the punk? Well, when you’re not getting chances, you worry. And I thought tonight, uh, we had chances. Um, you know, it’s it’s a mentality. It’s it’s going to the net with a purpose, shooting for a purpose, grabbing the goalie’s eyes with, you know, with purpose to to create rebounds and second chances and make it hard on him. I don’t think we we we’ve been making it uh hard on goalies and and driving to the net and um creating scrums, you know, make it make him uncomfortable in there. I think uh the 45 shots, yeah, we had some big chances, but a lot of them were were were probably making him feel more comfortable and and and making him feel better, building his confidence. Was that a key sequence there when when you couldn’t convert on that four-minute power play and then they get one right after and score almost right away? I mean, the the the 3-1 was tough. Um, that uh that was a tough one, but yeah, the the the game of of special teams, they score, I think, three on the on the power play tonight. And and we have zero for for a lot, and that four minute is um just not good enough. and and uh we we had way too many times we’re going back for pucks not enough zone time and uh starts with faceoff starts with winning the first battle and then winning the next battle. Thanks Dave the performance that you guys wanted but how did you feel in your debut? Um pretty good. I mean um obviously not the result we wanted so sucks coming off the loss. What was the ner level when you played today for your first game? I mean, you’ve been out there for preseason, but that’s completely different. Yeah, I mean, um, wasn’t too nervous, um, this morning, but definitely leading up to game time and I mean, first shift was a little bit nervous, but then settled in pretty good after that. When did you find out? Uh, yesterday, Danny, just a special teams battle, both sides of it tonight. How big of a role did that play in the end result for you guys? Yeah, I mean, they had three, I think, on the power play and, um, we weren’t able to get one. So, I mean, um, I thought we played a pretty good game overall. We outshot him by quite a bit, but, um, just need to capitalize on our opportunities. How frustrating was the end of camp? I mean, things were going so good for you and to get injured like that was a little had to be a little disappointing, I would say. Yeah, I was disappointed. um thought I was having a good camp and um I mean injuries happen and so um just tried to move on and um take take what I could and uh just make the best out of the opportunity and glad to be here now. Did you feel good in GR those games? Yeah. Yeah, I felt good. I mean kind of just first game getting back up to speed and um but yeah, I felt good. Were you surprised to find yourself on the power play with two other rookies like yourself? Uh yeah, I don’t know. I didn’t really know what to expect. So, um, but I mean it was it was fun being out there. Did you have to spring for any tickets for family or friends today? Yeah, I had uh I had some people I had parents, girlfriend, uh brother came down and cousin I think. So, not not crazy, but a couple Todd 0 for five on the power play. What do you think were the issues on that front today? 0 for five and 0 for three on the penalty kill. So the the whole special teams um battle we it was so downhill for us it wasn’t even close. Um you know the the power play we didn’t get in and get established. We had a tough time entering the zone and I think we lost eight or nine faceoffs. So all of a sudden you could keep starting in your zone, starting in your zone, and one of their strengths is their stand and their their length on the on the PK. And uh then all of a sudden, guys get frustrated. They don’t know they don’t do what they they need to do or what they’re supposed to do. Uh when we did finally settle pucks down and spend any type of time in the zone, uh I thought we looked good on the outside. Again, not a lot of net presence or uh or um any type of um flash type screening down low where where the goalender had any type of trouble. Penalty kill. They had three. We had 10 minutes on the power play. They had a minute 19. They scored three of their three shots. We got 0 for 11. That’s the game. T villain took a lot of blame put a lot of blame on himself but there are numerous high-end players who need more from Oh I I yes you know that’s noble that Dylan is is leading that way um and and you know stepping in front of the proverbial bullet maybe if you will because of of the media but uh you could have lined a bunch of players up tonight and asked them the same question. So, um, yeah, he wears the C. He’s got an answer for the group, but there was a number of them you could have you could have talked to. Just the decision to call up Nate and what’s your plan with him? Well, we we have been struggling offensively. Um, Nate, had he not been hurt in training camp, I think he would have started with our team based on where he was when he did get injured. Um, so he worked hard to to to stay healthy. He had an upper body injury and he was able to keep his legs going. So that didn’t go away and he’s had a pretty good start in um in Grand Rapids. So uh we wanted to see him now so we can make some decisions perhaps on some other players. Um and that uh you know for him for his first game, I thought he did some real good things on the ice. Uh it’s unfortunate that he leaves like the rest of the players with a loss, but um him and his he as an individual certainly wasn’t uh our problem. Uh Todd, with the with the power play essentially the same that the top unit, the same five guys that excelled on it last year, uh I mean does that make it surprising that the struggles this season? No. Um every season’s its own, you know, we’ve talked about this. Every season’s its own um you have to start all over. You have to reestablish things. Um it you just don’t show up and put your equipment on and say, “Hey, we got a good power play.” Um, you know, our power play basically from day one has been pretty average to this point. We haven’t had a lot of highs uh yet on it. We’ve scored some important goals, but not near enough. And last year actually when we needed it down the stretch, I think in Montreal um it was a game that we probably played uh and likely deserved, but our power play let us down. Um you know, lots of you think it was the penalty kill all the time. There were there were power play moments where where we were let down. So, um, there’ll be a lot of discussions over the next few days of what we do with with the units. And T, did you notice that maybe at times they started to press a little bit today, too, or whatnot? Yeah, you do that like you you start just throwing pucks from the perimeter instead of making a play that might be there. Um, you know, we started talking about we’re trying to stress people getting into um the in on the inside. get inside, find the junk that’s laying around. I thought Soderbloom did a good job of batting stuff past us sometimes. We were we were in tight. Um so give the goalender credit for that, but I still think we could be a lot um harder to play against, you know, defensively, but certainly offensively. How big of a turning point was that four-minute power play there at the end of the second? Well, it was big because they’d already scored on, I think, two of theirs at that point. So, it was big. you you could feel potential momentum coming and uh going into the the break you’d hope that you know guys were excited they’re a little bit down and uh we’re still working on the on the thing between the years about staying up and and um you know sticking with it earlier on in the season the PK was a strength and it’s starting to slip a little bit other than the faceoffs not winning the face off in your own zone. What do you feel is has been the issue with the PK over the last few games? Well, yesterday or not yesterday, game ago, we get scored on once. It was a it was a back check and a sort out. That that can’t happen today. The first goal, we have a clearing opportunity. We’re twoon-one. We have the puck. We don’t get it out and then we’re not in a shooting lane. So, there’s two things. Those can be fixed. Um the third one, fourth one. Um no, the third goal, fourth, third power play goal. Uh walk out from below the goal line. we have tools to to take care of that. We just didn’t get it done. And um you know, so much like our game right now where our power plays uh um scrambling, our penalty kill needs a polish up. Offensively, we need to get polished up, which puts a lot of pressure on us defensively and on the goalenders, and that needs a polish up. So, uh we’re lucky we have two good practice days coming up. And then if you’re able to start scoring kind of more of those garbage, greasy goals in close around the net, is that kind of the solution to maybe allowing the offense to kind of open up a little more? Well, you’d like to think so, but uh you know, it has to happen first and then we’ll see. Um we’ve always been a pretty good entry team. We make the plays and score off them. Had a great a chance again tonight. I think on Larsus reminds me of the the quick save the other night. Solderblum made another save. um you know those those chances we can create. It’s the grind time, it’s the cycle time, it’s the um you know it’s the grunt time if you want to put it that way. Um where you really got to dig in. We we need to be better in those areas. Todd, uh you moved Finny to the line with JT Conford. Was that because of the power play situation or something? No, just to mix things up a little bit. it uh you know going into the third period I I’d mentioned that we were a little bit you know not where we needed to be and uh just mixed things up. Cat I I thought Cat was dangerous and put them with the other two two guys that are dangerous and load them up and see what we could get. Um Finny did a good job I thought in that period of loosening up and driving pucks to the net. Uh maybe he got back to what he was doing. So it was it was just a hunch and trying to to to load up a line and see if we could get something. And then finally just in the power play too, you threw the three rookies out there together too. The same sort of thing. Just trying to get a new Yeah, trying you know that that unit probably had more um legitimate opportunities than the first unit. So they, you know, they don’t and they don’t get a lot of time. Uh maybe they need more clarify and both healthy. Yep.

Dylan Larkin, Nate Danielson, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Detroit’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday November 9, 2025.

37 comments

  3. This team is just incapable of finding a way to dig in at the level they need too. losing culture, worse era of the Red Wings. Zero faith in the fan base and no end in sight.

  4. "That 2nd unit probably had more legitimate opportunities than the 1st unit. And they don't get a lot of time. Maybe they need more."

    This clown. He literally gave the 2nd unit 1:15 on the FIRST POWER PLAY OF THE GAME. Then on the 4 minute power play he pulled the top unit off after a minute or so after they'd just had a grade A chance from Kane to Cat and had some rhythm. This is the worst coach in the league. No wonder he's never won anything. Hope Kane asks for a trade before this imbecile does any more harm to his year.

  11. This team has no pulse when they’re losing. Ever since that St Louis comeback they look like they’ve lost a loved one when the other team scores. And even that game McClellan had to chew them out midgame

  12. I always try to stay positive with this team… but this game, and week as a whole, really has me feeling pretty pessimistic about the rest of the season.

  17. Like last 2 seasons its slump time then they’ll cry about not making playoffs something or someone has to go they got no grit afraid to get in front of the net

  20. This is a test for this team. The thing they haven't been able to avoid the past two seasons are these "death spirals" where they lose like 8 of 9 and put themselves in bad holes. 3 straight losses…. we'll see if they can stop this before it turns into another in a long list of long losing streaks. I don't know what it is but this rebuild of young players is MASSIVELY inconsistent. That's something I would not have guessed would be a problem form Yzerman drafted players. It does seem like the team he's built is mentally fragile. It's hard to believe.

  23. Former Red Wings player Tyler Bertuzzi on a rebuilding Chicago team has 9 goals… That ties the amount of goals combined between Ras, Elmer, Compher, Copp, JVR and Bergs… That's just embarrassing boys

  24. I'm so tired of hearing that its "Not good enough." Then DO something about it. Start on time, win loose pucks, play with urgency. This is not something coach should have to say every game to get you fired up. You're getting paid boatloads of money to do this. Write it on a sticky note, put it in your locker, and then DO it.

  26. The positive vibes are fading now after the good start. It’s like watching the same movie over and over, year after year. They play well for a stretch only to implode. Yzerman should really try to make a couple trades and keep adding more youth too. Too many mediocre veterans contributing squat to this team.

  30. Look i am sick of hear the same shit after every game. I heard this all last year. This team need to make more changes. This team has no grit or toughness. Some r just going through the motions.

  31. We need to maintain at least a .555 point percentage to be in the playoff conversation. Based on the last three games, I'm not sure that we are able to do that, barring a hot streak sometime this season

  32. Copp, Compher, Rasmussen, Hamonic, are what we call passengers on a team. Veteran players playing over guys that are in GR is insane to me. If you're going to lose then bring up these kids from GR that want it. Bransig Knee Gard is better off than those 4 in the lineup. Mazur and Shine are scrappy players that will give some energy. Unfortunately Kasper and Raymond seem to have lost the magic this year for some reason, hoping it's a slump but those two have been non existent on the ice this year.

  35. Patrick Kane getting screwed over for the 3rd year in a row with the same exact lineup move.

    23-24

    Larkin DeBrincat Ray 4.69 GF/60, 3.32 GA/60

    Larkin DeBrincat Kane 5.52 GF/60, 2.36 GA/60

    24-25

    Larkin DeBrincat Ray 2.75 GF/60, 3.98 GA/60

    Larkin DeBrincat Kane 2.38 GF/60, 1.36 GA/60

    Year 1, he got screwed over by Lalonde and stuck with Compher/Perron late in the year. Derek fully intended to bury him w those 2 stiffs even into the playoffs had they made it. Kane did not score another goal that year once put w these two. Year 2, he got screwed over by Lalonde out of training camp (after being promised a fair shot at the top line job), and stuck with Compher/Tarasenko. Later it was Compher/Copp, as the 'top line' failed miserably. It took McLellan awhile to get there but now he has done the same exact joke of a move. Should have seen it coming as soon as he absurdly snuck awful Compher back to the 2C spot. Wonder if Kane saw it coming this time. Now apparently stuck w Compher/Finnie.

    It is unbelievable how nepotism for this very mid winger prospect Raymond has completely destroyed Kane's tenure here w the Red Wings. If he'd been with Larkin/Cat the whole time the vibes right now around this franchise would be very very different. We'd be on our 3rd straight season of incredibly entertaining memorable big boy hockey w an all American top line. The younger players would have been continually filling in below. Raymond would still be getting his licks on the power play, where he'd be extra focused (unlike now) bc it would be his opportunity to play w Larkin and the other good forwards.

    What a sh1tshow.

  37. People on here ripping on Larkin shows their lack of knowledge of the game, you might be a fan but you don't know the game. Larkin is 18th in the league in points and drives this team every game. You might not like his answers or what he says, but I think what he does on the ice is what matters. 31 teams in the NHL would take Larkin in a heartbeat. His work ethic is second to none in my opinion and without him this team is in last place. Problem is, there's not enough Larkin type players on this team with his heart and soul. Guys like Raymond, Seider are great players but they don't seem to have that killer drive that Larkin does.

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