Red Wings embarrassed in Pittsburgh, give up 11 goals for the first time since 1988

There’s a decent chance that you weren’t even born yet the last time the Detroit Red Wings allowed 11 goals in a game.

Entering Sunday’s action, the Wings last conceded that many goals way back on Feb. 23, 1988, when they lost 11–6 to the Philadelphia Flyers at Joe Louis Arena.

The Joe has since been demolished, but not before the Red Wings were able to hang four more championship banners from the rafters in the years since that 11–6 drubbing. Those banners now hang down over the ice surface at Little Caesars Arena.

But even the most illustrious NHL franchises have their darker days, and the Red Wings have had more than their fair share in the 2021–22 season.

The Wings have allowed 10 or more goals on two separate occasions this year, becoming the first team since the 1995–96 Tampa Bay Lightning to achieve that “feat.”

Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins saw the Red Wings allow not just 10, but 11 goals in an 11–2 loss. In doing so, the Red Wings became the first team to give up that many goals in a single game since the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers by a 12–2 score on Jan. 11, 2003.

The Red Wings have now allowed 11 or more goals in a single game nine times in franchise history, with most of those embarrassing defensive efforts coming in the high-scoring 1980s.

The Red Wings gave up 11 goals on just 35 Penguins shots in Sunday’s game. Starting goaltender @Alex Nedeljkovic allowed seven goals on 22 shots before being replaced by @Calvin Pickard late in the second period; Pickard proceeded to concede four goals on 13 shots the rest of the way.

Both Red Wings goaltenders finished with individual save percentages below .700 in the game. That’s … not ideal.

Here’s the full list of games where the Red Wings have allowed 11 or more goals, sorted chronologically:

For the record, the Red Wings have scored 11 or more goals on 13 occasions in franchise history, including a 15–0 win at home over the Rangers on Jan. 23, 1944.

@Dylan Larkin and @Jakub Vrana scored for the Red Wings in Sunday’s loss. The Penguins improved to 40–17–11 with the victory; the Red Wings fell to 26–32–8 and now sit just two points ahead of Chicago for 25th place in the NHL.

The Wings will do their best to avoid giving up 11 goals again when they return to action on Wednesday evening to host the Rangers at the LCA.

 

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