In a heavy 9-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, a Red Wings fan threw his jersey on the rink at Little Caesars Arena. This gesture of frustration is representative of what has been happening over the past few weeks in Detroit.
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In Michigan, fans are getting fed up. According to many, the Wings played their worst game of the season against the Coyotes on fire. It’s in net where we see the most problems, when the team also allowed 10 goals at home against the Maple Leafs on February 26.
Annoyed, captain Dylan Larkin tried to rally his troops, but his comments speak volumes about the atmosphere in the locker room.
“It’s frustrating, you don’t want to hear that, but our performance deserved the boos,” he said at a press conference. I don’t agree with someone throwing their jersey on the ice, but when we show up like that at home, we’ll be booed. We have to get out of it and play better.”
“I’m sad for us, it keeps happening,” continued the 25-year-old striker. We have to find a way to be positive, think about this game, and then work hard for the last seven weeks because it will not be easy and we cannot accept to continue this way.
Goalkeepers Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss have been particularly struggling lately. It is not uncommon to see them give up their place in the middle of a match… before returning to the net. This season, they are posting goals-against averages of 3.19 and 3.65, respectively.
Everything is going wrong
For head coach Jeff Blashill, the message is the same. It’s hard to find anything positive in this thaw against the Coyotes. Defender Gustav Lindstrom even finished the game with a -6 differential.
“I can’t single out one aspect in particular. I would say everyone. We have to defend better. We must be much more difficult to face. Everyone has to do a better job,” said the Red Wings pilot.
“We have to find [l’optimisme] again or else the last two months will be miserable,” Larkin rebounded.
If there is one positive moment to take from this meeting, it is undoubtedly Jakub Vrana’s goal. The Czech required shoulder surgery after sustaining an injury in training camp and was playing his first game this season.
As he did in his first appearance for the Wings, after being traded by the Washington Capitals in April 2021, Vrana found the back of the net. He and his teammates will have to build on these little moments of rejoicing.