It’s In The Bag Skate

Off their worst effort of the young NHL season, Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill decided to take his team to school. Old school. A hard practice on Tuesday included that long-time staple of hockey punishment, the bag skate. “It was to be expected,… forward Thomas Vanek told Mlive.com. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a fun day of power play, that’s for sure.… The 1-6-2 Wings fell 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. It wasn’t Detroit’s most lopsided loss in terms of goal difference, but clearly was their worst performance from a standpoint of work ethic. “We lost our way in Boston (8-2 loss) and Montreal (7-3 loss) but we didn’t not show up,… Blashill said. “We showed up. Once we got down, we panicked and started playing stupid hockey. This was not showing up. This is a whole different animal. This is no good. “I can’t explain it. That’s 100 percent inexcusable to not be ready to work, to not be ready to compete at the start of the game through the second period. You’re not ready to go and all the sudden you’re swimming the rest of the time. We swam for two periods.… The embarrassment level of the players was palpable following such a dismal performance. “It’s starting to get a little old,… defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “It’s madness what we’re doing to ourselves. Carolina’s a good team, there’s no doubt about that. But when you don’t even play, it’s tough to give yourself a chance.… “I think we have all played long enough where nobody’s happy,… Vanek added. “Nobody is obviously pleased. “What’s going on here right now is not fun.… Hronek to GR The Wings assigned defenseman Filip Hronek to AHL Grand Rapids on Tuesday. He’d been a healthy scratch the past three games. “He’s going to go down, be able to play,… Blashill said. “I think they play this week twice in Belleville, so he’ll be able to get playing there a little bit. Actually, I like Fil, I think he’s got a real bright future. He’s 20 years old, he’s not going to be 21 ’til November 2. “He needs to make sure he’s playing in the situations, both power play and I’m hoping he gets penalty kill time so he can bring different things to the table. He didn’t kill many penalties last year so we’re hoping that’s another asset he can bring.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer