Red Wings practice at Utah Olympic Oval on Sunday afternoon 

KEARNS, Utah -- In the middle of the Utah Olympic Oval, which was built for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games and continues to serve as the home for US Speedskating, sits an Olympic-sized ice sheet and another that has been converted to NHL size.

The latter ice sheet is where the Utah Hockey Club, the NHL’s newest franchise, has been practicing during its inaugural 2024-25 season. And on Sunday afternoon, it’s also where the Detroit Red Wings worked on getting their minds and bodies in the right place for what lies ahead.

“I think it was a good day for us,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said after Sunday’s practice. “We needed to skate today. It wasn’t an over-exertion skate. We know what’s ahead of us: these two games [on Monday and Tuesday] and then four games in six nights. But enough to get the crap out of your legs and feel good about yourselves again. We had a good meeting and discussed some areas that we want to improve in. A lot of times, at this time of the year, that’s where it’s done. Coming off the ice right now, I feel good about our opportunity tomorrow.”

Stepping foot inside the Utah Olympic Oval was a new experience for the Red Wings, who explored the facility and checked out the 400-meter speed skating oval and Olympic plaques before hitting the ice for practice.

“It was fun,” Lucas Raymond said about his experience on Sunday afternoon. “A lot of history in a place like this. Just driving in and seeing the mountains, it’s pretty cool. My first time in Utah, so it’s been good.”

Getting a quality practice in on Sunday was important for Raymond and the rest of the Detroit’s players, who have 13 regular-season games remaining after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights, 6-3, at T-Mobile Arena the night prior. Going into Sunday, the Red Wings were five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot.

“You have to turn the page and move onto the next game,” Ben Chiarot said. “We got two big games coming up here. Looking forward to those and getting off on the right foot here.”

Raymond mentioned that to gain some ground in the standings, the Red Wings just need to “get back to our game.”

“We’ve talked a lot, for a long period of time, of where we want to be,” Raymond said. “I think it’s time for us to show up and take that step. It’s fun, right? It’s exciting times. We’re still in it. We got to get back to our game and start playing with a little bit more desperation and urgency. Hopefully, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Still producing at just over a point-per-game clip, Raymond leads Detroit in assists (46) and points (70) in 69 games this season. The 22-year-old forward opened the scoring in Vegas with a power-play goal, marking his 24th tally of the campaign.

“Everyone wants to score, but I think the big thing is about playing your game, being consistent in that and trust that good things will come out of it,” Raymond said. “Obviously, scoring goals is always nice and usually helps the team, so try to keep that going.”