This Time, Red Wings Hang on to Win

McLellan made defending six-on-five situations a prior at Monday’s practice and the work paid dividends.

“Of course we talked about it but it’s a thing that we have to work on still,” Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson lamented. “We need to get tighter and yeah they had a good chance. But the hockey gods were on our side today and feels good with two points here.”

Red Wings Don Rally Caps

Detroit improved to 9-1-1 over the past 11 games with the win, but it wasn’t easily earned. Minnesota led 2-0 after one period of play.

“We were down by two but I didn’t think we played real poor in the first period,” McLellan said. “So we talked about that, how to scrap ourselves back in the game. It wasn’t a pretty night for either team. Not a lot of shots on goal, not a lot of scoring chances.

“Almost felt like a playoff game, tight-checking, muck and grind, but it was good for us to experience it, good for us to find a way to win.”

Vladimir Tarasenko got the Red Wings on the board in the second period with his second goal in four games. Edvinsson tied the score before the second frame was completed.

He’d also net the game winner just past the midway mark of the third period. It’s the first two-goal game of Edvinsson’s NHL career.

“It’s just a grind here and it’s gonna be huge for us these next coming games,” Edvinsson said. “We have a lot of them and a lot of back to back so it’s gonna be huge.

“This is the hardest part of season. I feel like everybody wants to get into the playoffs and it’s not an easy game anytime here soon. So yeah, we need all the points we can get.”