The current theme music for the Detroit Red Wings could be an old Led Zeppelin hit.
The song remains the same.
So does the outcome.
All the talk, all the planning, all the discussion of the process and structure, bundle it all up and throw it out the window. When you lay an egg at center ice like the one the Wings dropped Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena, none of it matters.
A 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes left Detroit 0-2-1 on its current five-game homestand and with just two goals to show for those three games.
“The effort we had in the first period, it’s embarrassing,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg correctly assessed.
Zetterberg was nursing an undisclosed ailment and in the morning, his status for the game was listed as questionable, which would also be an apt description for the Wings’ performance during the game in the evening.
“I just think we weren’t ready to start the game when the puck dropped,… Detroit forward Anthony Mantha said. “They got that first power play goal (early in the opening period) and for them that was a big start.
“We’re playing catch-up hockey after that which is pretty hard.…
For all their persistent talk about getting pucks to the net, the Wings went nearly 15 minutes before getting their first shot on goal.
“I think it has to do with our battle levels from the start,… Zetterberg said of Detroit’s inability to generate any offense in the first period. They won most battles. When we had the puck, when we had the opportunity to shoot we didn’t shoot. We passed instead.
“I think once we started to play a little smarter, started to play with a little more grit, we started getting shots on net and then we were playing pretty good.…
The end result was the same and if the Wings keep relaying the same message but it continues to fall on deaf ears, then you have to wonder what the heck is going on around here?
Arriving in Detroit off a 7-0 loss Monday at Pittsburgh, the Coyotes figured to be ripe for the picking but the only thing that was ripe on this night was the odor emanating from Detroit’s end of the ice.
“That’s on the leaders,… Zetterberg said. “That starts with me. We’ve got to be better prepared in here to come out.
“We all know they played last night. They lost pretty bad so we knew they were going to come out and play fast hockey from the start and win a lot of battles.
“We had to match that and didn’t do that. Even though I don’t think they played great hockey in the first, that just shows how bad we were.…
The coach wasn’t about to let the captain shoulder all of the responsibility for this disappointing outcome.
“Ultimately, the performance of this team is my responsibility 100 per cent,… Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I accept tons of responsibility for that. When I think our guys aren’t ready to play, I get on them. When I think our effort level isn’t there, I get on them.
“We had a hard time putting passes together early, I don’t know the reason why, but I came in here, we talked about some things we’ve got to be better at.
“We had tons and tons and tons of chances, whether it was early in the game with Riley Sheahan, his first or second shift. He had a big-time chance. We had chances in the second, we had chances in the third. That’s what we’re going to see on tape. That’s an absolute fact.…
Here’s some other facts - the puck didn’t go in - again - and the Wings lost - again.
“We’ve got to find a way to score,… Blashill acknowledged. “We’re going to continue to work on those ways to score.
“We got to find a way to get a victory on Thursday.…
Time is running out for Detroit, on this homestand, and on this season.
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