Detroit — Sunday marked the one-month anniversary of Todd McLellan taking over as head coach of the Red Wings. McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde on Dec. 26, with the Wings in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and eight points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Detroit Red Wings believe in themselves again, says new head coach Todd McLellan. That has made all the difference in the world.

McLellan and his right-hand man, former Kings and Ducks assistant Trent Yawney, have put their imprint on the winged wheel in short order. “Our structure in all three zones (has improved), I feel like we’re just supporting the puck better,” Talbot told The Detroit News.

Thirty days into Todd McLellan’s tenure as the Detroit Red Wings head coach, the biggest change in the team can’t be measured by statistics. You can see it.

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan opened up about a concern he has following his team's blowout win over the Kraken.

But it's on the defensive end that, possibly, bad habits from early in the season are beginning to resurface. McLellan, who took over Dec. 26 and the Wings immediately went 7-2-0 afterward, wants to stomp out those habits before they hurt the Wings again.

The Red Wings scored four times in the first eight minutes – Marco Kasper (3:22), J.T. Compher (3:33), Alex DeBrincat (6:16 on the power play) and Patrick Kane (7:53) and were on cruise control the rest of the way.