Mom’s the word for the Detroit Red Wings. The team went 2-0 on the club’s weekend mom’s trip, sweeping a home-and-home set from the Washington Capitals.

That was important in the NHL standings.

“If we could all fit them under the cap, we’d sign them for a long time,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said of the player’s mothers.

In these days of fancy stats, where everyone is discussing the impact of the underlying numbers, there was an underlying meaning to Detroit’s weekend success story.

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Everyone got to play a role.

For Sunday’s game, forward Marco Kasper was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Mason Appleton, activated from the injured list, slotted into his spot in the lineup.

Travis Hamonic replaced Jacob Bernard-Docker in the third defense pairing alongside Albert Johansson. John Gibson, carrying the hot hand with seven straight wins, gave way between the pipes to Cam Talbot, who was winless in seven.

In hockey parlance, altering a winning lineup is akin to blasphemy. In McLellan’s mind, the equation was much simpler.

It was the right thing to do.

Red Wings Opt To Give Everyone A Game

“Marco was a healthy scratch today,” McLellan said. “So was Jacob.

“Look, we wanted to, with the moms here, we preach team all the time. We think that’s part of our culture. Everybody’s important in the organization. Not just the players, but the training staff and everybody. And the right thing to do was to give everybody an opportunity to play in front of their moms.

Let’s play some hockey!

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“Now, did we ice our best lineup tonight? We did. We won the game. Some could argue it one way or the other, but that’s what we believe in, and that’s part of culture. So we had to tell Kasp. How do you pick who comes out? Everybody played well in Washington yesterday.

“Bernard Docker didn’t deserve to come out. Gibby probably deserved to go back in net. But we do things as a team and talked to all of those guys. They were very understanding, and they were rooting for the ones that went in.”

All About Building Team Culture

You can put forth the debate that this isn’t youth hockey, where everyone plays, and you’re not wrong. McLellan hears that argument and offers a counterpoint.

When building a culture, belonging is a big part of it. Everyone wants to feel that they are one of the spokes that make the wheel turn. All want to believe that they are contributing.

From the coach’s viewpoint, he’s selling the team concept to everyone. In McLellan’s mind, as these players were welcoming arguably the most important person in their development curve to town, all needed to be seen in action by their moms.

“We gave everybody a chance to play in front of their moms,” McLellan said. “I know some would say, well, it’s the NHL. You don’t do that.

“Well, sometimes you do. And I think each of them will walk out of here happy. Some of them got to play two games in front of their mom. Some one. But the win and all the smiles on their faces, they’ll go home tonight and have some fun. And that’s way better than having one or two of them walk around and not feel like they belong.

“So I think it’s important. I think the culture part of it is huge. Been on many of these trips, always have extra bodies, and you find a way to get everybody in.”