Detroit opened its two-game homestand with a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday, which marked its 17th win of the season at Little Cesars Arena. Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, captain Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper all lit the lamp for the Red Wings, while Gibson stopped 20 shots to push his personal winning streak to five consecutive contests.
Owning a 14-2-0 record with a 2.06 goals-against average and .929 save percentage as well as three shutouts in his last 16 starts, Gibson said the keys to this stretch of success have been “finding my game on a nightly basis and kind of getting into my groove.”
“It wasn’t the start I wanted, but it’s a long season,” Gibson said. “You try to be patient, put the work in and I knew it was going to change eventually.”
Since the beginning of December, McLellan has observed a shift in Gibson.
“[Gibson] looks bigger,” McLellan said. “His chest is sticking out. He feels better. I notice it the most during TV timeouts, when he comes to the bench and kind of takes charge. ‘Hey, D-men, be aware of this. If I get it here, this is what I’m thinking. They’re looking backside.’ Just his interaction and his activeness around the players have gone up immensely. And he’s now got leadership qualities, too. That took a little while to come to fruition, but it’s happening.”