Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was predictably unhappy with the team’s effort following their 6-3 loss to the Coyotes in Arizona on Thursday night, their second consecutive loss after winning four straight.
“We’ve got to be ready to go and be ready to play a good, solid defensive game against any team in this league,” Benn told the team’s official website. “We can’t take games off like we did tonight.”
The Coyotes are currently on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in, but they seemingly gave Dallas fits with their speed on Thursday. Defenseman Jason Demers said he wasn’t taken off guard by that speed, just that he committed some crucial mistakes at bad times.
“No, it was me making three big mistakes, and they capitalized on three mistakes. That’s the way it goes. I let the team down in a big way today,” Demers said. “The speed shouldn’t have surprised us, just wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready. That’s what happens in this league; you end up losing to a team you should beat.”
Stars coach Lindy Ruff was a little less hard on Demers than Demers was on himself, opting for the position that the defense as a whole struggled.
“I thought as a defense corps we struggled,” Ruff said. “It was more than just Demers. He can take some of it, but as a group, we weren’t very good.”
