The last time the Red Wings went on a run like this, their captain was Nicklas Lidstrom, their leading goal scorer was Johan Franzen and their coach was Mike Babcock. Their current captain was a 15-year-old playing for Belle Tire.
Now their coach is Todd McLellan, who has sparked the Wings to seven straight wins in just eight games behind the bench -- matching their longest streak since 2012.
"It’s definitely a good thing, to win hockey games," said Dylan Larkin, who knows all too well how it feels to lose. "Todd has come in and we’ve worked on a lot, and it starts with his intensity and how we practice. We’re up and down, we’re moving, there’s a lot of pace. There’s a lot of teaching moments and then we’ve been tested in games."
The Red Wings were second to last in the East and eights points out of a playoff spot when McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde as head coach the day after Christmas. After a 6-2 win over the Kraken in which Larkin, Patrick Kane and Lucas Raymond combined for six more points, they're two points out of the playoffs with half the season to go.
"Early in the season I kept sitting up here and saying that I believe there’s more in that locker room," said Larkin. "Unfortunately it took a coaching change to get that going, but that’s, I guess, the business of our sport. It’s exciting to see that the answers were in there and now we’re on a roll. It’s how we can keep that going and capitalizing on points at home, knowing what’s coming later this month."
The Red Wings finish a four-game home-stand Tuesday night against the Sharks, another bottom-feeder in the West. Then they go on the road for four games, starting with three teams ahead of them in the standings: the reigning champion Panthers, the Lightning and Stars. McLellan said that the coaching staff has "had to map out a bit of a plan" for the players since taking over, "but they’ve lifted their own spirits, really, with the way they’ve played and the way they’ve bought in."
Over Detroit's seven-game surge that started with a win over the Caps, Kane leads the NHL in scoring with 13 points, Raymond ranks second with 12 and Alex DeBrincat is tied for third with 11. Larkin is tied for fourth with 10. They've been especially potent on the power play.
The Red Wings are also getting secondary scoring from their depth forwards and defensemen -- including five points from Moritz Seider, Erik Gustafsson and Albert Johansson against the Kraken -- which has been just as important to their push up the standings.
"In my opinion," said McLellan, "you’re either moving forward or you’re repairing. Right now, we’ve had some success and the nuggets that we try to give the players, because they’ve had success with then, they’re waiting for more. Like, 'What else do you have for us? And let’s see what else we can add to it. Because it’s worked for us so far, we’ll buy in and we’ll apply it.' So, we can move forward."
With another win Tuesday, the Red Wings would make it eight straight for the first time since ... 2008, the last time they made the Stanley Cup Final. Spirits are high. The race is on.
"But all we did was crawl back into it," McLellan said. "Now we got a lot of work in front of us."