Todd McLellan makes notable change to Red Wings line combinations during his 1st full practice
New Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan has made a few notable line combination changes during his 1st full practice with the club since taking the job.
The Detroit Red Wings named former Stanley Cup-winning assistant Todd McLellan the 29th head coach in team history on Thursday; Derek Lalonde along with assistant coach Bob Boughner were dismissed.
McLellan arrived in Detroit with not much time to prepare for last night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, an eventual 5-2 loss during which several of Detroit's defensive lapses that have plagued them this year arose again.
But today, he was able to get in his first full official practice session with his new team ahead of tomorrow's game against the Washington Capitals (7:00 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, 97.1 The Ticket).
Not only did McLellan issue a blunt demand of his players, but he also made a few notable differences to their line combinations compared to last night.
Jumping to the first line is forward Joe Veleno, who recently enjoyed a brief hot streak of three goals in as many games, while Michael Rasmussen was relegated to the 4th line with Tyler Motte; Christian Fischer also skated with the line.
Veleno - Larkin - Raymond
DeBrincat - Copp - Kane
Berggren - Compher - Tarasenko
Rasmussen - Kasper - Motte/Fischer
Chiarot - Seider
Edvinsson - Petry
Gustafsson - Holl
During last night's game, the Red Wings were victimized by the depth and talent of the Leafs. Mitch Marner scored his 3rd career hat trick, while Detroit's defensive lapses allowed too many chances that Toronto took advantage of.
