James van Riemsdyk, Cam Talbot, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments @ SJS | Nov. 2, 2025

James van Riemsdyk, Cam Talbot, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments @ SJS | Nov. 2, 2025

just talk us through the uh emotions getting that win and the game tonight itself. Yeah, obviously a huge game for us to set us set ourselves up nicely to have a really strong uh road trip. So, uh just finding a way to get the extra point there is huge for us and uh we just got to keep things uh rolling along here. Everything’s pretty simple. Yeah, I think that’s a recipe to be honest uh no matter what for us is just trying to play pretty predictable, direct, straightforward and um just uh kind of let our abilities take over from that. But I find that that’s when we’re playing our best is when we’re all very predictable to each other. You guys had the opportunity there in the third to close it out. I think you score the late one mentally. How do you guys just reset, regroup, and you know, find the way? Yeah, that’s part of it. Uh throughout the course of a season like you’re going to have some stretches where maybe a balance doesn’t go your way and you just got to keep playing. And I think we’ve done a good job of that this year is uh just no matter what the circumstances of the game are, you just keep playing and um that’ll uh again over the course of a long season if you can kind of uh keep doing that and um just give yourself a chance every night that uh to lead you to put you in a good place towards the end of the end of the year. What can you say about what Cam has given you guys this road trip especially the shootouts the last last few? Yeah, I mean uh him and Gibby have both been rocks for us uh the whole year. I mean, uh, I mean, every game that especially tal too, like obviously tonight, um, what a game he played and, uh, he’s just, I think both those guys, we got a lot of confidence in them and they kind of, uh, just the way they’ve been playing just it’s, uh, really kind of, uh, you could you could feel that through the bench and through the team, just they’re there to bail us out and, uh, have done a really great job for us. This game feel like a long game for you guys with all the How’s it coming out to this game for you guys? You know what? It’s uh maybe a better question for somebody who’s been here a little bit longer, but yeah, there definitely was a good amount of uh red in the building tonight, which is uh always fun. I mean, obviously an original six fan base, you know, it’s going to travel fairly well and uh stuff like that. So, it’s always fun to get a little extra support uh on the road. Appreciate you guys playing this kind of a classic road game recipe for you. That’s exactly what it was. Um I mean it’s never an easy easy win in this building and you know you’re going to have to come in compete um limit their chances off the rush and and gut out a win here and that’s exactly what we did. Got a couple big goals uh huge one from in the in the shootout and uh we’ll take it and we’ll move on. Your second shoot out here in the last couple days. How is it feel navigating those emotions and just staying calm in the moment? one. Yeah, it’s not the uh the way you always want to end a game, but I mean, anytime you’re uh you’re able to pot one or two and just going out there and trying to stay patient and and make the saves and give the guys a chance. So, I feel like I’ve been able to do that the past couple games and guys have potted some big ones for us and um you know, like I said, come up with four big points. I don’t know how much you see it out of the corner of your eye, but what did you think of Cider and Celebrity kind of battling for it there in the slaughter? Uh actually, I didn’t really see it. I was more focused on on what was going on uh the other side. But yeah, I mean that’s that’s what those guys bring. I mean, Seline is a uh you know, unbelievable talent over there. And I mean, you need a guy like Mo to to you know, play that physical game against him. He’s he’s not the biggest guy, but he’s feisty. And you get a guy like Mo up against him. And um you know, that’s probably a mismatch for for them, but uh you know, give Mo credit and give CB credit. He’s a a fiery fiery player and uh he the whole team drives through them. He’s you got to watch out for him every time he’s on the ice. How important is this just in terms of this situation it puts you in going into road trip? Yeah, obviously now we um you know six out of eight is good, but we want we want eight points here. So um we’re not going to take this one for granted. We’re going to go out there and make sure we finish off this road trip on a high note. So um that’s another tough building we got to go into, but um you know those games are fun. It’s what you want to play for and uh you know they’re one of the top teams in this league. So, it’s going to be a fun game. Speaking of the building, there’s a lot of Red Wings fans here that always show up every year for this game. Does it kind of almost feel like a home game when you hear their support like that? It’s felt like that the past few games, actually. Yeah. All over uh California here. So, I mean, obviously, we have some uh some pretty special fans and very passionate. So, it’s nice to see them supporting us in in every building on the road, too. So, uh nice we we’re able to give them a show and uh thank them for coming out. Thank you. How well the way you guys were able to pull this one out? Um, I thought we kind of had a a mixed bag to start. Uh, we weren’t playing uh the type of game that we wanted to play. We getting a little bit cute, stick handling a lot in the offensive zone. Second period started to throw stuff towards the net and it opened up for us a little bit. Um, you know, third, they’ve got some pretty good players. They capitalized on a few of their opportunities and all of a sudden it’s a game. But, um, you know, happy to get out of here with with a point, two points. Um, you know, San Jose’s obviously retooling and rebuilding a little bit, but they’ve they just took points from Colorado and Jersey and um, a tough team to play against. Cider gets his first tonight of the season. I guess when he’s skating well and especially in the offensive zone, what does that look like to you? Well, he’s skating well all over the place. That that’s the third spot that he should get to where he’s using his legs is off offense. But um you know he he slides the line well. He skates forward and backwards well. So he’s dynamic. He can go anywhere he wants with the puck. And uh I’m glad that he got that shot through because some of his shots have been getting blocked lately. Um and you know maybe that’ll encourage him to use that shot that he has. It’s it’s a powerful one. It’s it’s often accurate and um when there’s traffic there, it’s going to be hard to stop. So um we got a reward tonight and I’d like to think he’ll keep doing what he did. You guys are 63% on the faceoff dot tonight. How important was that especially after you know a tough night a couple of games you had. Um important to start with a puck and you know it’s hard on skill when they’re in there battling. Um CBrini and Wenberg took a lot of their face offs and that initial battle if you don’t win it it’s draining. Um you know we talked about trying to wear them down a little bit having them having played last night. So um a good job in the circle. Where do you think the power plays at right now? our power play. Where’s it at? Um you guys a little bit like our game. They’re they’re real dangerous at times and then there’s other times where where things don’t happen. I thought tonight our best chances we only had what two power plays. Our best opportunities uh came from the the secondary unit on the tips and the deflections. So, um having different looks on on each unit is important. Um, you know, we we lose one of our our best power play guys for the past 3 weeks. That affects things. Um, we replace him with a 20-year-old. I think he’s doing an admirable job and, um, it’s going to e and flow all year. Todd, I know maybe you were asked this when you first took this job, but considering you won as a standing company as an assistant coach, now that you’re the head coach, is this like a full circle moment for you? Yeah, it was. Um, you know, when when things happened last year at Christmas and Steve decided to make the change and I got the call, it was exciting for a lot of different reasons. One, obviously getting back in and coaching and trying to make a difference with with young men and and a team. Uh, but two, going back to Detroit and and I’ve said this all along. I my first three years there were were terrific. Uh, it allowed me to be prepared to come here. Uh and then secondary going back and seeing all the people that are still around the team and the passion in the community. It’s uh you know it’s never left. It’s it’s there. Um it’s hockey town for a reason. What can you say about Cam and what he’s given you guys his last couple start? I think he’s played tremendous. I’ve seen this before. Um uh you know he’s had some real good years where he looked confident, calm. Um the fatigue factor, he doesn’t look he never looks tired in the net. Means he’s being uh very efficient with his movement. thought he got us a couple whistles tonight when when the rest of the team was tired. So, his game management skills, which are part of the team’s game management skills, are are real strong. Things started.

James van Riemsdyk, Cam Talbot, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Detroit’s game against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday November 2, 2025.