Todd McLellan sends a strong message to Detroit Red Wings players after his first back-to-back loss as head coach

Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan is sending a strong message to his players after suffering two straight losses. McLellan took over as head coach on Dec. 26, 2024. After a tough start with a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he led the Red Wings to seven straight wins, including a big win over the Washington Capitals, who are a President's Trophy contender this season.

However, their win streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks. The Red Wings bounced back with a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers but suffered back-to-back defeats to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars, getting outscored 9-2.

After the 4-1 loss to Dallas on Sunday, McLellan said the team needed to keep working on their habits.

"We're aware of them, certainly, and it's not unexpected." McLellan said, "It's hard to change habits. You know, we worked really hard on the mindset. We're going to have to keep doing that. Haven't had a lot of practice time right now because we've been on the road and playing games every second night, but that's not going to change.

"So our learning has to come from video, and then we have to apply it in the game. And we'll keep harping on them and roll keep pushing them, and we're not going to accept slippage. It may occur but we're not going to accept it." [6:40]

McLellan has over 600 career wins as a coach. He is pushing the Detroit Red Wings to keep improving and not fall back into old mistakes. The team is currently 21-21-4, ranking No. 7 in the Atlantic Division standings.

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Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan pointed out defensive mistakes

The Detroit Red Wings lost 4-1 to the Dallas Stars. Matej Blumel gave Dallas a 1-0 lead in the first period after a rebound shot. Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal at 13:05 to make it 2-0. Mavrik Bourque made it 3-0 with a backhand shot at 14:18.

Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan pointed out defensive mistakes in the game.

“From my perspective, we look at it from the defensive side and what we gave up. Some real egregious errors by individuals again, and the whole group pays the price for them," McLellan said.

In the third period, Marco Kasper scored for Detroit, cutting the lead to 3-1 after a deflection. Wyatt Johnston responded for Dallas, scoring a backhand goal at 14:09 to make it 4-1.