The Detroit Red Wings suffer perhaps their most ‘alarming’ setback in recent memory on Friday night.
In a game where they were anticipated to secure a straightforward victory on paper, the Detroit Red Wings faltered against the struggling Arizona Coyotes, suffering a humbling 4-0 defeat. This setback marked their fourth consecutive regulation loss, and helped to demonstrate how much the team misses captain Dylan Larkin, who is unavailable due to injury.
The Detroit Red Wings fell behind early and often
The game began in a manner that might suggest it was the Detroit team, rather than the Arizona Coyotes, who had only won two of their last 10 games. Jack McBain struck early, scoring the opening goal less than three minutes into regulation. Alex Kerfoot added to the lead with a goal of his own, followed by Logan Cooley capitalizing on a power play opportunity to further extend the Coyotes’ advantage.
Detroit remained unable to find the scoresheet throughout the game, resulting in what can only be described as a deeply humiliating setback against a team virtually assured to miss the postseason.
Detroit’s poor start was nothing short of ‘alarming’.
Head coach Derek Lalonde did not mince words when he described the opening 20 minutes as “alarming,” emphasizing his disappointment with his team’s performance, particularly in light of Dylan Larkin‘s absence.
“We haven’t handled Dylan being out well this year but as a group, everyone has to do a little bit more,” Lalonde said. “It’s just disappointing, the start. Hopefully we can build off that second period, but that start in the first was alarming.”
“We have to try to focus on the two or less (goals allowed) that we’ve talked about for a number of months now,” forward Andrew Copp said. “Focus on the team defense, penalty kill needs to get better.
“That was my fault today on the seem (Coyotes power-play goal from Logan Cooley), can’t have that and especially down 2-0. But it’s just a commitment to good team defense, and especially with 71 (Larkin) we’re not as high octane offensively.
“We have plenty of capable players who can put the puck in the net, but we have to commit to the defense.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings suffer a humiliating setback on Friday night, losing 4-0 to the lowly Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena
- The Red Wings fell behind by a 3-0 score early in the 1st period and failed to score a goal
- Detroit’s start was ‘alarming’ in their words in their postgame comments
Bottom Line: The Red Wings must dig deep and rebound
The Red Wings maintain their position in a Wild Card playoff berth. However, they squandered a crucial opportunity to widen the gap between themselves and the New York Islanders, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the tightly contested Eastern Conference standings against a lowly team like the Arizona Coyotes.
The challenges for the Red Wings will only intensify as they face the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, at T-Mobile Arena, famously nicknamed “The Fortress,” on Saturday night.
