The boos rained down from the fans that stayed behind at Little Caesars Arena as the Detroit Red Wings exited the ice after their ugliest loss of the season.
In what should have been a relatively easy two points in the standings for the host Red Wings, they instead allowed the 31st-place Arizona Coyotes to run them out of their own rink to the tune of a 9-2 final score.
Make that three straight losses for Detroit, who has surrendered 45 goals against in their past eight games. Of course, ten of those goals came in one night against the Toronto Maple Leafs in what turned out to be a thriller, as Detroit stormed back to score five third-period tallies.
What’s even sadder is that both Red Wings goaltenders were pulled tonight, just as they were against Toronto. Alex Nedeljkovic, who has struggled mightily in his past several appearances was lifted after allowing four goals. Thomas Greiss replaced him in net and promptly allowed three goals of his own in quick order. Back out came Nedeljkovic.
For head coach Jeff Blashill, there’s no doubt that there was a lack of pride displayed by his squad on the ice.
“We all have to go out and do a better job, whether it’s me, whether it’s them, everybody,” head coach Jeff Blashill said afterward. “As a group, we have to be better. We have to have more pride than that. You come home on home, you can’t have a performance like that.”
The fans agreed, routinely voicing their displeasure throughout the ugly evening. One fan even decided to protest the score by tossing his Red Wings jersey onto the ice.
The Coyotes take a 9-2 lead, and a fan throws his Red Wings jersey onto the ice. Not good for Detroit.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) March 9, 2022
The lone positive on the night was forward Jakub Vrana, who was making his season debut after his shoulder injury suffered in training camp kept him out of the lineup until tonight, scored a power-play goal in the second period.
Blashill, who has been on thin ice with the fan base, will certainly be facing more calls for his termination following tonight’s embarrassing setback. What GM Steve Yzerman chooses to do remains up in the air.
– – Quotes via Jeff Riger Link – –