Todd McLellan said the Detroit Red Wings must play for the crest on their sweaters even as playoff hopes all but dimmed.

The Detroit Red Wings’ final four games will have no bearing on a playoff chase that all but ended Thursday with a 4-1 loss in Florida. But they won’t simply be going through the motions. The games will count for something.

One of the qualities that is admirable in the way McLellan operates is his unwielding honesty. Sometimes, that honesty can be brutal. During the season, he has called out both captain Dylan Larkin and defenseman Justin Holl for underwhelming performances.