Whether or not that is the case, that improvement under McLellan has played a key role in Detroit's five-game winning streak, and now, with Lyon set to spend some time on the shelf injured, the Red Wings will need to keep it up without the man responsible for most of the gains. For more on that dynamic, check out the featured video above.

So it's not like Todd McLellan didn't know who he was getting when he was named coach of the Detroit Red Wings last month. Yet it's one thing to have coached against him, another to be standing right behind him.