The Red Wings (24-21-5, 53 points) would tie Tampa Bay and Columbus for the final wild card spot with a win over the Oilers and a regulation loss by the Blue Jackets at Vegas, though technically Detroit would still trail based on points percentage and tiebreakers.

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.

The Kings take a two-goal lead in the first period before losing, 5-2, against their former head coach and dropping to 2-5-1 over their last eight games.

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.

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.