Five things to know about the Red Wings

(Detroit) The Canadian is back in the Michigan metropolis for a third game in barely a month against the Detroit Red Wings. However, it will be a different team from the two previous duels that awaits the CH. Here are five things to know about Paul Ysebaert’s former club.

An effect that fades?

On December 26, a week after the Canadiens swept them in a home-and-home series, the Red Wings announced the dismissal of head coach Derek Lalonde. His successor, Todd McLellan, had an immediate effect. Defeated in their first match under the new coachthe Wings then won seven duels in a row, to also invite themselves into the race for the playoffs. Are the new relationship butterflies already a thing of the past? In five games since their winning streak, the Wings are 1-3-1 and have allowed 19 goals. They were also limited to three goals in the last three duels. In their defense, they just concluded an inconvenient trip that took them to Sunrise, Tampa, Dallas and Philadelphia.

Reinvigorated attackers

Lucas Raymond has destroyed everything in his path since the change of regime. With 18 points in his last 13 games, the Swede comes in 5^e rank of NHL scorers since the Christmas break. Dylan Larkin, with eight goals and nine assists, comes just behind him. In his case, the before/after is even clearer since he had 26 points in 34 games at the time of Lalonde’s dismissal. Let’s not forget good old Erik Gustafsson among the beneficiaries of McLellan’s arrival. Limited to 5 points in 26 games under Lalonde, the former Canadian has 8 in 13 games since the catapulting (figuratively, depending on what we understand) of Lalonde.

More difficult for Veleno

Despite a two-year contract and an annual salary of $2.275 million, which he signed last summer, Joe Veleno remains unable to establish himself as a permanent member of the top four lines. Tuesday, in Philadelphia, the Quebecer was left out, and therefore watched a fifth game from the bridge this season. At 11:41, Veleno comes to 12^e rank among his club’s forwards in terms of average playing time. He was limited to 9 points in 42 outings this season. Not exactly the scenario envisioned by the Wings when they drafted him at 1^is tour (30^e in total) in 2018.

The source dries up

Speaking of the draft… One of the ingredients of the Red Wings’ success in the 2000s: home runs in the late rounds of the auction. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmström were all drafted at 171^e rank or further. However, their last prospect drafted after the second round to have played more than 200 games in the NHL is Mattias Janmark, selected in 3^e tour in… 2013. The one we affectionately nickname “Jean-Marc” has not played any of his 604 games with the Wings since they traded him in 2015.

Stockholm, Michigan

Does Ben Chiarot speak Swedish? He’d better get started on it, if not. In the absence of Jeff Petry, who has been missing since January 4, the Wings deploy a half-Swedish defensive brigade, represented by the aforementioned Gustafsson, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson. This is without forgetting another former Canadian, William Lagesson, also from the country that left us the köttbullar, who plays the role of reserve in defense. Not yet convinced? It was in Sweden that Moritz Seider, German by birth, played his last season in Europe before crossing to North America. Up front, Raymond, Elmer Soderblöm and Jonatan Berggren also come from Sweden.