Blashill, Red Wings school Maple Leafs in Babcock's return
It's now Jeff Blashill's throne.
The rookie coach triumphed over the long-time monarch in Motown in his NHL debut Friday, guiding the Detroit Red Wings - with the assistance of a Justin Abdelkader hat trick - to a 4-0 victory over Mike Babcock's Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was hardly a fair fight, as the Red Wings are overwhelmingly more talented and capable of contending this season, but it was an important night for Blashill nonetheless.
"It's a pretty neat thing to have the opportunity to be the coach of an NHL team that you grew up cheering for, so I took a moment to certainly enjoy that, but other than that, it's been preparation as usual, and we're glad we got two points," Blashill said.
"I thought it was a good step for our hockey team," he added.
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Meanwhile, Babcock, who left the Red Wings this summer after 10 seasons at the helm, can't be overly pleased with his new team's performance, but he's delighted about one thing: his homecoming having come and gone.
"I'm glad this is all over with to be honest with you," he said. "The Leafs played the Red Wings today and they won."