DETROIT _ In a season of underachievement, Tuesday's game stands out as an embarrassment.
Playing a struggling, tired opponent, the Detroit Red Wings found a way to look like the worse team at the start, and never recovered. They were dealt the 4-1 loss they deserved by the Arizona Coyotes at Joe Louis Arena, where fans shouted much of the night to "shoot the puck."
By the time the Wings did so, goaltender Mike Smith was in a groove. Early in the third period, Henrik Zetterberg had a backhand roll off Smith's back, into the paint, but had no puck luck. Tomas Jurco had a clear lane and open space to shoot, but managed to deke into the netting. Jamie McGinn netted his second on a re-direct from behind the net.
The Wings had 10 shots the first 8 minutes of the third period. If only that fire had been there from the start.
So far in this five-game home stand, the Wings have collected one point. This night saw them play so poorly the first 14 minutes it was mind boggling given the situation they are in, given an opponent that has one of the worst records in the NHL, an opponent that had been routed, 7-0, 24 hours earlier.
They gave up a goal 2 minutes into the game when Anthony Angelo converted short-side during a power play. The Wings got a power play but it was still Jimmy Howard who made the only save of the stretch. Then the Coyotes got a second power play and while Howard did not face any shots, the Coyotes had possession almost the whole penalty.
It took the Wings until 14:27 to get a shot on Smith, a backhand by Alexey Marchenko. They finally showed some resolve in the final few minutes, when Thomas Vanek fed Gustav Nyquist, who raced off with Andreas Athanasiou, passing him a puck that deflected in off Athanasiou's skate. Then came a deflating last minute, as Arizona's Lawson Crouse managed to get his backhand on a bouncing puck to make it 2-1, at 19:44.
The Wings looked better to start the second period, with Nyquist getting a nice shot on Smith, but it was the Coyotes who scored again, with McGinn net-front to score on a set up from Peter Holland. Riley Sheahan had a chance down low but shot over the net as he continues to search for his first goal of the season. Athanasiou's line with Nyquist and Vanek had another good shift ending in a rush that saw Athanasiou send Vanek's pass into the netting.
A second power play again saw the Frans Nielsen unit create a chance, but Smith made the save. A third power play materialized within a minute, but they made nothing of it. So many shots went over the net or wide, but the Wings still had a 20-15 edge after two periods.
