Embarrassing, disappointing, appalling – yeah, you could check off just about every adjective for failure you could imagine and all would apply to the performance turned in Saturday afternoon by the Detroit Red Wings during a 7-2 shellacking they absorbed at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A Pittsburgh team minus Evgeni Malkin and getting a solitary assist from Sidney Crosby still managed to pour a season-high seven goals into the Detroit net.
“Today I don’t think it was nearly what it needs to be, and that’s obviously something … tonight was embarrassing and we have to do a lot better than that,… Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “We have to be better, pretty simple.…
The Wings just didn’t show up and put up much of a fight against one of the teams they are battling with for an Eastern Conference playoff berth, and that has to be setting off alarm bells within the brain trust and the core group of this team.
“The goals they got are too easy,… Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “We’ve got to be more careful with the puck in key areas, we’ve got to play better in our own end, and play better in their end.
“They spent time in our end and that’s what we should do in their end.…
As the game got away from the Wings and Pittsburgh made it 6-2, Wings coach Jeff Blashill called timeout and blasted his team for the performance they were putting forth.
“We’ve got to play good hockey,… Blashill said. “I don't care at that point, you can't try to score and play poor hockey, you've got to play good hockey and your habits have to be great all the time.
“There's no way that I wanted to allow a game that was in a bad spot to affect us. I knew at that point we probably weren't winning the hockey game, so we’d better play good hockey so that come Monday (at home against the Buffalo Sabres), we're ready to play good hockey.…
Zetterberg agreed that the bad habits the Wings exhibited during the loss must be eradicated immediately. Otherwise Detroit’s 24-year run of successive playoff appearances, already in jeopardy, will be at an end.
“There were some mistakes in the game that we probably want to have back but when they get 5-2 there and then it’s 7-2, you know, that shouldn’t happen,… Zetterberg said. “That’s on us. It’s something that we have to just erase.
“Obviously it’s not good but we have a game on Monday, we have to clear the air here and come back and play. Obviously we wanted to have a better performance here today. We want to win the next game here Monday; it’s a big game. We’re still in it and that’s what we’re going to do.…
The Wings have discussed at length about rectifying what’s ailed them of late – they’ve lost seven times, all in regulation, during the month of March and given up four or more goals in six of those losses. But talk is cheap, and when it isn’t backed up by affirmative action, it’s completely worthless.
“Well, there’s a lot of talk but I think again, that’s enough talk,… Kronwall said. “We’ve got to get out there and actually do something about it. It doesn’t matter how much you do with talking, you’ve got to be able to do it out there, too.…
Small Solace Detroit did score on the power play Saturday, marking the first time all season that the Wings have tallied power-play goals in four successive games.
“I don’t know if I want to think too much about it to be honest with you,… Kronwall said. “Obviously our power play has to get better. Sure we’ve gotten some goals lately but we need those goals, and we need them earlier in the game.
“We can’t be digging ourselves a hole, three goals against and all of a sudden we have one. Obviously, we could have had something going there, but they answer right back. But it’s tough when you spot them three goals and expect to get something out if it.
“We have to be way better than that.…
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