Todd McLellan points toward "drastic changes" to key Red Wings stat
The Red Wing's penalty killing, having been at historically poor levels earlier in the season, has experienced a rebound in recent weeks.
The Detroit Red Wings went through a stretch earlier this year in which their penalty killing was running at a historically poor efficiency.
The Red Wings were on pace to have the NHL's worst penalty killing since the mid-1980s when the Los Angeles Kings set the previous unsightly record.
And while they are still ranked 32nd, dead last in the NHL in terms of their current efficiency, they've managed to successfully kill off 10 of their last 11 penalties that they've taken as part of their 4-game winning streak.
As Red Wings coach Todd McLellan explained ahead of tonight's game against the Calgary Flames (10:00 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, Sportsnet, 97.1 The Ticket), they've made "drastic changes" to how they approach having one of their own players in the penalty box.
We've made drastic changes to it systemically and the guys have bought in. They're willing to attempt to execute, there's been clarification of what their roles are, and goaltending is always a big, important part of it.
He also pointed to the strong play of goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon during this recent stretch.
You don't have good penalty kill numbers without goalies making the saves and bailing you out when they have to. Faceoffs are obviously an important role and lack of time on it certainly helps. We have been a fairly disciplined team, we haven't been taking sloppy, unneeded penalties. The ones we do take are play savers or situational things that can happen.
"We're pleased with that.
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12 HOURS AGO | 11 ANSWERS Todd McLellan points toward "drastic changes" to key Red Wings stat Can the Red Wings' penalty killing climb out of 32nd place in the NHL? |
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