Even though it was only the first game of the season, Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan already seemed to be sounding the alarm after a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
At a press briefing after the meeting, the former Edmonton Oilers driver had no qualms about denigrating his players. For him, it's quite simple: everything has to change, and quickly.
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“We just played the match. We didn’t play to win. We have no chance…” he lamented to reporters.
“The players will say, and they've probably told you before, 'We can fix this.' When? The time has come. Some people have been saying this for years. The time has come,” the 58-year-old continued.
Among the areas that needed improvement, McLellan noted in particular his team's defensive play, which he considered too lenient against Martin St. Louis' men.
“We just spent three and a half weeks working on these situations,” McLellan explained. If this happens once or twice per match, it will be normal. But there were six or seven episodes where [le Canadien] came into our zone with an extra player at the end of the first period. This is unacceptable.”
Last year, the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season. McLellan, for his part, took the reins of the team in late December, following the sacking of Derek Lalonde.
