The Detroit Red Wings dropped their contest against the shorthanded Carolina Hurricanes last night at PNC Arena, losing a 5-3 decision to a team missing several key regulars thanks to COVID-19 protocols.
And needless to say, they're not exactly thrilled that their road record now stands at a paltry 4-10-1.
“We have to figure it out,” captain Dylan Larkin explained afterwards.. “We’re looking for answers. We need a spark. We need to get in a groove. But it’s just been really difficult.”
Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Sam Gagner tallied for Detroit, who got 28 saves from former Canes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in his return to Carolina. But it's certainly difficult not to have what's going on in professional sports with increased COVID-19 positive cases at the forefront.
“Human nature is we see what’s going on around the league, a couple guys on our team tested positive,” Larkin said. “Human nature is, ‘Jeez, when is it going to go through us and what’s going to happen?' You worry about that, and the possibility of being out for 10 days and missing games.”
Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Blashill stated the obvious, saying their road record simply must improve.
“We haven't won enough on the road,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “We have to find ways to make sure you're not giving up four on the road. You can't give up that many goals and expect to win, because it's really, really hard. We lost the special teams battle.
“Ultimately we just have to keep grinding and finding ways to dig in and make sure that the game is there to be had either way. We have to step up.”
– – Quotes via The Detroit Free Press Link – –
