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Todd McLellan didn’t duck it after Detroit’s 5-4 loss. The Red Wings coach put the choke in plain view when the season was on the line.
That’s why his postgame message landed hard. Detroit had rallied with 3 goals in the third period, then gave it right back with Kirill Kaprizov’s late power-play winner at 1:51.
McLellan didn’t frame it as bad luck or a bounce gone wrong. He framed it as a mental crack, and that’s a lot more damaging for a team trying to stay alive in April.
The ugly part is that this wasn’t some random stumble in November.
And McLellan’s quote cut right to the soft spot. He said the first 40 minutes left him “really disappointed,” then added that once things turn, “we crumble for a while.”
That’s the hard truth in Detroit right now. The Wings can still push, but the coach just admitted their response under pressure isn’t close to playoff standard.
The bench told the same story. Detroit spent most of the night chasing, then finally surged, only to lose its structure again when the game was there to steal.
Detroit’s problem is bigger than one loss
This is what makes Sunday sting more than the final score. McLellan has been warning about starts, urgency, and competitiveness for days, and the same issues keep walking back into the locker room.
A team can survive a flat night. It usually can’t survive a pattern.
Detroit had already dropped 4 of its previous 5 in regulation before this one, and that is where the season started slipping.
The comeback only made the ending look worse.
Patrick Kane tied it late, the building woke up, and the Wings still handed Minnesota a power play and the last word.
That leaves McLellan in a spot every coach hates.
He can shuffle lines, shorten the bench, and lean harder on his top players, but none of that matters if the group keeps folding when the game turns.
Detroit still has scorers.
Alex DeBrincat sits on 37 goals and 78 points, which should be enough to give this team a fighting chance down the stretch.
But this loss wasn’t about talent on the top six or a missed look on the power play.
McLellan made it about backbone, and that’s the kind of charge that hangs over a room long after the final horn.
If the Red Wings miss, this quote is going to live. Not because it was dramatic, but because their coach finally said out loud what everyone around this team can already see.
Previously on Detroit Hockey Insider
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Todd McLellan goes off as Red Wings blow it in terrible collapse
Did Todd McLellan do the right thing by calling out the Red Wings this bluntly ?