Though a 4-0 defeat (with the 4th goal being of the empty net variety) may not be the worst loss in the world, it was certainly among the more humiliating setbacks for the Detroit Red Wings in recent memory.
A ghastly first period that saw them outshot by an unthinkable 27-2 margin did them in, even as goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic did his best to keep his teammates in it by facing more shots in 20 minutes than many face in an entire contest.
Afterwards, it was head coach Jeff Blashill with a rather somber post-game presser.
“This was different than other road games that we’ve played,” Blashill said. “We weren’t even close at the start of the game…it wasn’t even close. We have to play way better than that if we want any chance to win games.”
When asked what was the reason behind the inexplicably lackadaisical start, Blashill didn’t have the answer.
“Our practice I thought was good, I can’t answer why we came out and had such a poor performance in the 1st,” he said. “Obviously it’s something we’re going to dig into. If I knew it was coming, If I knew the answer to stop it, I would have stopped it. You get into a game and it appeared to me that we had a whole bunch of guys who weren’t prepared to execute and ready to play, and when you do that, you’re lucky if you don’t get down. It could have been more had Ned not been really good.”
While Detroit was able to muster a better effort in the second and third periods, the two goals scored in the opening frame was all the offense that the Kings would require, working their way up to a 3-0 lead by the end of 40 minutes.
“We can’t come out with that lack of readiness,” Blashill said. “In the end, it’s one loss and we need to find a way to play better tomorrow.”
The Red Wings will take on the Anaheim Ducks in the matchup that was originally scheduled for Friday.
– – Quotes via Detroit Red Wings Link – –
