The game was over before the first period was halfway over.
The Detroit Red Wings undermined themselves Thursday at Bridgestone Arena, thwarted by defensive lapses and unimpressive goaltending to dig themselves a hole from which they could not rise. They didn’t make it nearly hard enough on the Nashville Predators and deserved the 7-1 loss.
It’s the third straight loss for the Wings, who fell to 10-20-4.
Rocco Grimaldi, who played locally for Little Caesars and the NTDP, set a record for fastest hat trick in Predators franchise history, completing the feat in 2:34 — and then added a fourth goal, late in the third period.
Thomas Greiss was chased before Grimaldi’s third goal, after allowing three goals on seven shots in 7:14. Calvin Pickard was in goal when Grimaldi scored again, giving the Predators three goals in 45 seconds.
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Bobby Ryan scored at 19:05 of the first period, converting on a setup by Christian Djoos, who replaced Dennis Cholowski in the lineup. It was the Wings’ first goal in 150 minutes. The Wings lamented after Tuesday’s loss they weren’t hard enough on Juuse Saros, but he didn’t have any tougher of a night Thursday.
Marc Staal left the game with an upper-body injury, but the loss was mitigated by the Wings going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a seventh straight game.
The Omen
Dylan Larkin had a tough first few minutes, seemingly a sign of what was to come for his team. On his first shift, he collided with Troy Stecher, falling down after taking the impact to the chest. Then Eeli Tolvanen crunched Larkin into the boards, sending him to the ice again. Larkin headed down the tunnel to get looked at, but it wasn’t long before he was back on the bench.
Get Out
Grimaldi scored his first goal at 5:34, taking a pass from Eric Haula and popping a shot high behind Greiss. Eeli Tolvanen made it 2-0 at 7:23, converting 25 seconds into a power play. Grimaldi scored again at 7:39. Greiss had skated behind his net to play the puck, aiming a pass at Patrik Nemeth. Grimaldi picked off the puck and rushed out front to notch his fifth goal of the season. That was the Predators’ seventh shot on net, and enough for Greiss to cede the crease to Calvin Pickard. It’s the second time Greiss has been pulled early in a game; Pickard relieved him Feb. 11 at Tampa Bay after Greiss allowed three goals on six shots in 4:54.
Scream
Grimaldi completed his hat trick at 8:08, given time and space coming up the right flank as his would-be defender, Filip Zadina, got caught watching the puck, not his man. Ryan converted on a power play in the final minute of the first period. The Predators put the puck behind Pickard with half a minute to go, but the Wings successfully challenged offside. Mikael Granlund made it 5-1 midway through the second period, firing a shot that hit Stecher’s stick and went five-hole on Pickard. Mathieu Olivier scored in the third period on a screened shot. Zadina made the turnover on Grimaldi’s fourth goal, and couldn’t catch him on the breakaway.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.