On this edition of the Detroit Red Wings/Detroit News podcast, Ted Kulfan talks about the team's four-game sweep on the western road trip and Sportsnet draft analyst Jason Bukala is the interview guest.

Before Christmas, the odds of the Red Wings making the playoffs were less than one percent under coach Derek Lalonde.

After Christmas, under new coaches Todd McLellan and Trent Yawney, Detroit has gone 15-4-1 and the odds, according to moneypuck.com/predictions, are 50-50 of ending the franchise's eight-year playoff drought.

"As we sit here doing this podcast, I would be a little surprised at this point if they didn't make the playoffs," Kulfan said. "This has been about as good as they've played in years, quite honestly. The one thing which really stood out during this four-game road trip, you kind of expected them to win during points in these games."

On this edition of the Detroit Red Wings/Detroit News podcast, Ted Kulfan talks about Dominik Shine's successful NHL debut at age 31 and NHL podcaster Julie Petry is the interview guest.

After nine years in the minor leagues, Shine played in Monday's 5-2 win over the L.A. Kings and he'll make this week's road trip which begins Thursday in Edmonton (9 p.m., FDSN, 97.1).

"It is a great story," Kulfan said on the podcast. "You need these type of stories throughout the course of a long season. I think the team really embraced it last night. He's kind of an everyman Joe. He's 31 years old, a career minor leaguer from the area, from Pinckney and went to play at Northern (Michigan). He's stayed in Grand Rapids since 2016 because he wants to build a base for his family."

On this edition of the Detroit Red Wings/Detroit News podcast, Ted Kulfan talks about the Red Wings' mini slide after the seven-game winning and Kraken broadcaster John Forslund is the interview guest.

Ted Kulfan takes a look at the red-hot Red Wings, who have a seven-game winning streak heading into Tuesday's game against San Jose and ex-Wings defenseman Brad Stuart is the interview guest.

Ted Kulfan takes a look at the resurgent Red Wings who are on a four-game winning streak heading into Tuesday's game against Ottawa and broadcaster Kenny Albert is the interview guest.

Ted Kulfan takes a look at the Red Wings under new coach Todd McLellan and L.A. Kings TV analyst Jim Fox is the interview guest.

Fox, a former first-round draft choice who scored his first NHL goal against Detroit goalie Gilles Gilbert in 1980, worked with McLellan in Los Angeles from 2019-2024.

"There will be doubt whatsover the way Todd wants things done," Fox said. "That will not be an issue. It will be communicated. It will be explained. You'll see it. You'll see it in practice. Once they get on the ice, it's all business. Todd is clear. He's up front. That's what you're going to get."

In this special edition of the OctoPulse podcast, Ted Kulfan takes a look at the Red Wings firing Derek Lalonde and assistant coach Bob Boughner and replacing them with head coach Todd McLellan and assistant Trent Yawney.

Steve Yzerman went back into the team's history and hired McLellan, who was a 41-year-old assistant coach with the Red Wings when they won the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Now 57 years old, McLellan is just two wins away from 600 career wins and will be behind the bench as a head coach for his fourth NHL team (San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings) when the Red Wings face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday at Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m./FDSN/97.1).

In this edition of the OctoPulse podcast, Ted Kulfan takes a look at the Red Wings after two disappointing losses to the Canadiens and Hall of Famer Mats Sundin is the interview guest.

In this edition of the OctoPulse podcast, Ted Kulfan takes a look at Sebastian Cossa's successful NHL debut and three-time Cup champion Ken Daneyko is the interview guest.

In this edition of the OctoPulse podcast, Ted Kulfan takes a look at the Red Wings at the 20-game mark, on pace for 74 points and out of the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

He also talks about the unlikely possibility of Steve Yzerman making the third coaching change in the NHL (Bruins fired Jim Montgomery, who replaced Drew Bannister of the Blues on Sunday), the upside of defenseman Jeff Petry perhaps in his final year in Detroit and how first-round draft pick Marco Kasper is outplaying J.T. Compher as the second-line center.

In addition, Mike Keenan is the interview guest. In Keenan's book, "Iron Mike: My Life Behind the Bench," he details for the first time two meetings he had with Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch about coaching and managing the team, which could've changed the course of Red Wings history for good, bad, or indifferent.