Todd McLellan doesn't wait around when his team is in the top three in the Atlantic Division. After the Detroit Red Wings started the new calendar year 0-1-1, and following a 4-1 thrashing vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, McLellan didn't hold back.
Post-game, McLellan reiterated that the Wings are far from a finished product. But he also mentioned something that has haunted them since October. "It's evident that we have work to do, The Pittsburgh team was everything we wanted to be tonight -- they started with intensity that backed us off, they were faster than we were, and they smothered us in all three zones."
If you want proof that this has been an ongoing process, think about this: the Red Wings have dropped 12 of their 15 regulation losses by three or more goals. They may be well in playoff contention past the midseason mark, but you can't drop 80 percent of your regulation losses by three or more goals.
That's not the sign of a good hockey team, and Todd McLellan knows it. So, he's doing something about it now, and not gambling that the problem's going to solve itself if he doesn't make changes.
Todd McLellan is making gutsy changes to the Red Wings' lineup
McLellan saw firsthand what it was like for the Red Wings to collapse in the second half of the season when they ran out of talent in their final 28 games last season, posting a record of 11-14-3. In his attempt to put a stop to this mess before it becomes a problem, he injected lineup changes in Sunday's practice.
The Red Wings started things off by recalling John Leonard, who has four points in seven contests this year. On Sunday, McLellan moved Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat, and Patrick Kane to the first line. Dylan Larkin dropped to the second line with the struggling Elmer Soderblom and Marco Kasper flanking him.
Lucas Raymond was at wing on a line with James van Riemsdyk and J.T. Compher, while Emmitt Finnie, Michael Rasmussen, and Mason Appleton made up the fourth. Somewhere in this lineup, expect to see Leonard, most likely in Soderblom's spot.
Gutsy is the right word here. Other than the Copp line, McLellan completely broke apart the prior first line of Emmitt Finnie, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond. Putting all three capable scorers on different lines could easily provide the spark he's looking to ignite and put the Wings back in the right direction.
Eradicating the Red Wings' recent scoring woes
The Red Wings weren't awful with their previous lineup, in which Finnie, Larkin, and Raymond manned the first line while DeBrincat, Copp, and Kane took the second. They're currently 14th in the league with 129 goals.
The problem, though, was inconsistency. Detroit logged just 58 shots on goal over its past three games, scoring six goals in the process. A playoff-caliber team can't let that happen unless they plan on watching hockey after they complete their 82-game regular-season schedule.
Some coaches would try to let the inconsistency run its course, but Todd McLellan wants immediate results. After what happened last season, following two seven-game winning streaks, you can't blame him. When something is broken, you need to fix it, and McLellan recognizes that. His lineup changes should invigorate the fanbase because he's doing something to solve an issue before it gets out of hand.