DETROIT -- Everybody in hockey knows that the Red Wings' game is puck possession.
Controlling the puck causes your opponent to chase you around the rink, while you’re creating scoring chances.
In order to control the puck, you have to win face-offs, though, which Detroit didn’t do in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes at Joe Louis Arena.
How badly were the Wings dominated in the face-off circle?
Antoine Vermette and Martin Hanzel combined to win 31 draws, seven more than all Detroit's players combined. Phoenix won 46 face-offs to the Wings 24.
"We never have been beat like a drum like that at home, ever," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “Their intensity was much higher than our intensity.
"We addressed that right from the first period on, and we weren’t able to do anything about it.
“We have good face-off people. We’ve been a real good face-off team, and tonight, for whatever reason, we weren’t.”
Wings forward Daniel Cleary acknowledged that the Coyotes are a very good face-off team, but in order for the Wings' offense to get going, they have to win face-offs.
“Face-offs are a huge part of our game,” Cleary said. “When we don’t have the puck, we’re always chasing it and we can’t get going. And by the time we get the puck back, the shifts over.”
Despite their face-offs troubles, the Wings took a 2-1 lead in the second period on goals scored 53 seconds apart by Joakim Andersson and Jonathan Ericsson.
But the Coyotes were relentless in their attack and scored the game's final three goals. Michael Stone got the go-ahead goal at 15:13 of third period, and Vermette added an empty-netter to seal it in the final minute.
“We created enough chances, but we gave them way too many chances,” said Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg. “We have to be a little tighter, a little more structure.
"They probably had 10 to 15 odd-man rushes. You don’t see that often in this building.”
Jimmy Howard faced 37 shots, and the Wings had 30 on Mike Smith.
Detroit’s next game will be Saturday night at the Joe against the Philadelphia Flyers, and there could be some changes and juggling of lines. The Wings have just eight goals in four games and have lost two straight after winning their first two.
“We weren’t good enough in any way,” Babcock said. “We’ll have to look at how we’re playing everybody and what we’re doing. We were poor as a team.”
