Midway through Karen Newman’s national anthem Sunday night, someone threw an octopus onto the ice at Joe Louis Arena.
Maybe it was symbolic. After all, only eight home games remain at the Joe for the Detroit Red Wings before they move to Little Caesars Arena in the fall.
Then again, maybe the lifeless animal was symbolic in a different way. As it lay splattered on the ice, it did sort of resemble the Wings’ play in the second and third periods that led their 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers.
Ryan McDonagh had two goals, including a short-hander, and the Rangers scored 37 seconds apart in the second period to pull away.