RECAP: Red Wings endure 4-1 loss to Coyotes

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are mired in a seven-game losing streak after falling to the Arizona Coyotes, 4-1, at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night. And the only way the Red Wings snap out of this funk, according to David Perron, is by digging in and battling through it together.

“It’s as tough as it gets right now in the room,” Perron said. “We got to find a way to bounce back. We got to find a way to get up, put our pride on the line and be better.”

Goalie Alex Lyon made 23 saves for the Red Wings (33-27-6; 72 points), who were swept by the Coyotes (27-35-5; 59 points) in the two-game season series and outscored 8-1. Arizona netminder Connor Ingram stopped 28-of-29 shots he faced on Thursday.

"We didn't have jump tonight," Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. "There's no doubt it felt like they had a little better legs. That's probably a little bit of us pressing. I think our guys want it so much."

The Red Wings fell into a 1-0 hole at 5:10 of the first period when Logan Cooley skated into the offensive zone all alone and scored a backhand while the Coyotes were short-handed.

With two minutes left in the first period, Lucas Raymond one-timed a cross-ice pass from Patrick Kane in the left face-off circle while on one knee for a power-play goal to tie the game at 1-1. The secondary assist on Raymond’s 19th goal of the season went to Shayne Gostisbehere, who leads all Detroit skaters with 24 man-advantage points this season.

“Obviously, they come out and get the first goal,” Perron said. “I thought we battled, got that one back on the power play. Great play by Kaner and Razor there.”

Deflecting Alex Kerfoot’s shot from the high slot, Michael Carcone gave the Coyotes a 2-1 lead at 8:36 of the second period.

Nick Bjugstad made it 3-1 at 10:02 of the third period, taking a behind-the-net feed from Nick Schmaltz and sending in a wrister from the bottom of the left face-off circle. At 16:56, Clayton Keller cashed in on an empty net to put Arizona up 4-1.

“At times, we had some jump and zone time,” Lalonde said. “It’s just really frustrating. They only had two chances in the third (period) and one was gifted on just a poor arrival, which we gave up the slot.”

Ben Chiarot said Detroit must rediscover its defensive identity to get back into the win column.

“Defensively, you see the chances we give up, the breakdowns that we have,” Chiarot said. “When we’ve been playing well this year, those chances aren’t happening as frequently as they are right now.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will host the Buffalo Sabres at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon for the first half of a weekend back-to-back set.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on immediately going from a multi-game winning streak to a multi-game losing streak

"In your career, you go through some things like this. It's just trying to find some answers throughout the lineup. It's the reality. We have not handled our group very well with Dylan (Larkin) out. There's no reason for that. He's a special, special player and engine on a lot of nights, but we have very capable groups and lineup."

Perron on if he senses tentativeness in the Red Wings’ game

“Possibly, but that’s what’s been costing us is mistakes that we shouldn’t make at the wrong time. I don’t know what it is, but find a way to not make it. Every team is going through that. We thought maybe at times we were going to make some plays to get to the playoffs, but this league is too good and keeps you honest. I think that’s what’s happening a little bit to us right now. You could say maybe you’re being too tentative at times to make plays, but that’s not what I feel.”

Perron on playing strong defense before discussing a lack of offense

“You don’t get the same type of offense throughout the whole year. This is just different hockey at this time of year. You don’t outscore your problems all the way through the year. I just don’t believe in that. I haven’t seen a team recently winning the Stanley Cup that way. Over my whole career, I haven’t seen that. We got to find a way to put sound, solid game for 60 minutes that we can hang our hat to and be proud of it at the end of the night. Most of the time, we’re going to have to allow less than two or three goals.”

Chiarot on improving defensively going forward

“It could be a number of different factors, but we need to get this thing going in the right direction. We need to be better defensively. I think you see the chances we give up, they’re ones that shouldn’t happen, especially at this time of year when everything should be rolling in the same direction. It should be like a machine by this point, just everyone knows exactly where they’re supposed to be and be in there at the right time. We’re not there yet and we need to get there in a hurry.”