Tocchet blasts Coyotes after blowout loss: 'It was men against boys'

Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet lamented his club's performance after an embarrassing 7-1 loss in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.

"Listen, we've all been embarrassed in life before," Tocchet said following the defeat, according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "I played hockey. I've been embarrassed.

"I can't tell you a guy that played well tonight. We were embarrassed. It was men against boys today."

Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after a first period that saw the Coyotes muster just three shots on goal. The Avalanche owned a dominant 76.56% share of expected goals for and 82.35% of high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five overall, per Natural Stat Trick.

Coyotes starter Darcy Kuemper was chased from the net after allowing four goals on 22 shots following his sensational 49-save performance in Game 3.

Now facing a 3-1 series deficit, Tocchet challenged his team to show that they want to remain in the postseason.

"This whole bubble thing ... it's about who wants to stay," he said, per Wyshynski. "You can tell who wants to stay and who wants to go home. For this game, it looked like we wanted to go home. We'll see about the next game."

The Coyotes will look to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday.