TEMPE, Ariz.— Losing to elite teams is one thing, but to gift victory to a team headed for the draft lottery is a stain on the Detroit Red Wings.

Hours after general manager Steve Yzerman opted to stand pat (save one small move) at the trade deadline, the Wings did little to reinforce that decision Friday night. They didn't play better team defense, as Yzerman had stressed in his post-deadline comments, and they failed to feed off the heavy presence of Wings fans — someone even threw an octopus onto the ice with three minutes and change to spare — at 4,600-seat Mullett Arena. The result was falling, 4-0, to the Arizona Coyotes and losing their fourth straight game.

The losing comes as the New York Islanders have moved within two points of the Eastern Conference wild-card berths, where the Wings (33-24-6) cling to a position after losses to the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Islanders. Detroit is tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning, albeit with one fewer game played. During their skid, the Wings have been outscored, 20-5.

THE YZERPLAN: Steve Yzerman explains quiet trade deadline: Red Wings comfortable with own depth

The Wings were without Dylan Larkin (lower body injury) and down to 11 forwards after trading Klim Kostin to the San Jose Sharks. Coach Derek Lalonde said at the morning skate he was leaning towards used 11 forwards and seven defensemen regardless, as it provides the chance to give star forwards more ice time.

Coyote ugly

The Coyotes had played the night before, when they lost their 33rd game of the season. The Wings, on the other hand, had been off the day before; not even being called upon to practice as they were headed into their own back-to-back situation. But it was the Wings who looked tired and sloppy when the game began, displaying little defensive cohesion and therefore little in the way of offensive attack. The result was a deficit that began when Jack McBain scored at 2:35, doubled when Alex Kerfoot tipped Juuso Valimaki's shot from just outside the crease at 8:05, and tripled when rookie Logan Cooley ripped a slap shot from the right circle during a too-many-men penalty on the Wings at 17:04.

Second-period response

The Wings looked slightly better when they came out for the second period, and Alex DeBrincat had a decent chance early that was denied by Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram. By the time the Wings went on a power play at 14:07, they were down by four goals, though, because Nick Bjugstad had time and space to get off a good shot on Alex Lyon, scoring at 8:16. The Wings registered 17 shots on net in the second period to hold a 23-17 edge after 40 minutes.

Fischer's impact

There was a nice little tribute video to Christian Fischer during the first timeout, recognizing the former Coyote for his seven seasons with organization. The Wings signed the 26-year-old to a one-year deal last summer, and given how he has established himself in the lineup, he projects to be re-signed. Fischer's value is in how hard he works around the net and in retrieving pucks. Teammates give him some gentle ribbing for tracking the little plays he makes that leads to goals but not an assist for him, but it's all in good fun. "The boys like to tease me now that that is in the media," Fischer said after the morning skate. "There’s a lot of guys that do those types of things and it goes noticed in the room. That’s what matters."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings all bark, no bite in 4-0 loss to Arizona Coyotes