Firebirds shut out again at home in Coachella Valley's worst loss inside Acrisure Arena

This game should’ve been circled. Maybe it was. Either way, it didn’t matter.

Almost a month ago, on Oct. 25, the Coachella Valley Firebirds were held scoreless at home against the Ontario Reign. David Rittich, the Reign’s star netminder, recorded 41 saves without surrendering a goal that night.

On Tuesday, in front of a sold-out crowd inside Acrisure Arena, the Firebirds had their chance to avenge the loss and get the better of Rittich. They did neither in a stunning 6-0 loss to the Reign, which was the Firebirds' most lopsided home loss ever inside their home arena since it opened last December.

It was just the fourth time the Firebirds (8-6) have been held without a goal at home.

"We got out-competed tonight," head coach Dan Bylsma said, "100 percent."

The Reign broke a scoreless tie with a power play goal late in the first period, then scored twice more in the second period to keep the crowd of 10,087 from helping the Firebirds get back into the game.

Coachella Valley, which has now lost three consecutive at home, is now 2-5 in games inside Acrisure Arena this season. They are 6-1 on the road.

"Our puck play was very sloppy for what we expect, standard-wise for our group," Firebirds defenseman Connor Carrick said. "There are certain nights when you're going to play good teams and you have to answer and discourage their offensive rhythm ... and we didn't discourage them enough and control play."

Firebirds goalie Chris Driedger was not in uniform or in the building Tuesday. With Seattle Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer out with an undisclosed injury, the Kraken recalled Driedger back to the Firebirds’ NHL affiliate for an undetermined amount of time.

That meant Ales Stezka, a 26-year-old from the Czech Republic, stepped into the net for the fourth time this season. He finished the game with 30 saves.

But Stezka wasn’t the problem.

"When I look at the game, I'm not looking at the goaltender at fault in this one," Bylsma said. "I thought he was good early on for us. We can look at the mess that was the short-handed goal, the one in the crease, but that mess is not him. That mess is us."

While the Firebirds benefitted from having NHL veteran Devin Shore, top prospect Shane Wright and Ryan Winterton back in the lineup following stints with the Kraken, Coachella Valley was still unable to find much offensive cohesiveness.

"Our coaches are giving us the right recipe," Firebirds blueliner Jimmy Schuldt said. "They're giving us the tools. They're giving us the right pre-scout. We know what kind of game Ontario plays. We know that they're good defensively, we know that they have a good goaltender. We know how we need to score and what we need to do and for whatever reason we're not quite getting there."

At the 15:02 mark of the second period, Winterton punched the puck into the back of the net and the home crowd rose in celebration. But after an officials review of the play, the goal was waved off due to interference.

That was the closest the Firebirds would come to scoring all night. Rittich, who has now held the Firebirds scoreless for six consecutive periods, finished the game with 22 saves. The shot total was Coachella Valley's lowest of the season.

"He played really well tonight," Bylsma said of Rittich. "We're going to have 10 scoring chances, which is not near enough and that's all due to out execution and effort level."

Play was stopped for several minutes late in the first period when Reign blueliner Tobias Bjornfot hit the ice and was eventually taken out of the rink on a stretcher. Jacob Melanson was given five minutes in the penalty box for boarding and an additional 10 minutes for misconduct, which put Ontario on a power play to finish the period. The Reign used it to score the first goal of the game and snatch the early momentum.

The goals

1-0, Reign: At the 19:24 mark of the first period, Samuel Fagemo flipped the puck into the net to give the Reign the lead for good. The power play goal was the fourth in four games this season for Fagemo, a 23-year-old from Sweden who spent part of the season with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.

2-0: Tyler Madden, a 24-year-old from Albany, New York, gave the Reign a two-goal lead when he found the back of the net on a deflection at the 11:54 mark of the second period. It was Madden’s fourth goal of the season.

3-0: Francesco Pinelli, a 20-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, scored his second goal of the season late in the second period, after he found himself one-on-one with Stezka. Pinelli faked to his right, then went left to put the puck into the net.

4-0: Samuel Helenius, a 20-year-old Finnish-American forward, added an exclamation point on the win at the 2:12 mark of the third period. Fans began shuffling out of the building in droves following the goal.

5-0: Fagemo scored his second goal of the game and fifth of the season at the 11:11 mark of the third period.

6-0: Martin Chromiak, a 21-year-old from Slovakia, scored his fifth goal of the season at the 16:48 mark of the third.

Ice nuggets

Max McCormick’s quiet night: Coachella Valley’s captain was held without a point in the game, and it did not bode well for the Firebirds. When McCormick plays well, typically the Firebirds do, too. When he doesn’t, it also shows.

The Firebirds are 3-4 this season when McCormick doesn’t record a point and 5-3 when he does.

Tuesday marked the fifth time this season that McCormick, who led the AHL in points last season during the Calder Cup Playoffs, went without a point inside Acrisure Arena. The Firebirds lost four of those games.

Bottom line: The Firebirds do not generate much offense when McCormick isn’t the one initiating it.

Hockey Fights Cancer: In recognition of November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, several physicians and other staffers from Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage participated in the pre-game festivities.

Justin Thomas, a pulmonary and critical care physician, played the national anthem on a saxophone as a group of others from Eisenhower held a giant American flag over the ice. Two other physicians dropped a ceremonial puck.

Next game

The Firebirds take the ice again on Saturday against the Condors in Bakersfield. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

Coachella Valley then returns home for a Nov. 29 game inside Acrisure Arena against the San Jose Barracuda.

Andrew John covers the Coachella Valley Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Firebirds suffer worst home loss in 6-0 defeat against Reign