Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle's emotions boiled over when asked about his job security following the club's 10th straight loss on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to say? Well what do you think?" Carlyle replied, according to The Athletic's Josh Cooper.
When it was pointed out to Carlyle that he had neither confirmed nor denied concern about where he stood with the club, he abruptly ended his media scrum just three minutes after it began.
"Well then don't ask the dumb questions," he said before walking away. The disgruntled bench boss then called the reporter a "jerk," according to Mike Coppinger of the L.A. Times.
It's understandable that Carlyle would be feeling the warmth of the hot seat. The Ducks are in free fall, and their defeat at the hands of the Penguins was not pretty. Anaheim was up 3-0 after the first period, and held a 4-3 advantage heading into the third frame, but ultimately fell 7-4.
Adding insult to injury, the Ducks lost at home to the basement dwelling Ottawa Senators in their previous matchup.
Some of the underlying numbers suggest this type of collapse was inevitable. The Ducks allow the third-most shots in the league and take the fewest. On a per 60-minute basis at 5-on-5, they rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring chances generated, and allow the most scoring chances against. The heroics of goaltender John Gibson has covered up these warts for most of the season.
A 10-game losing streak can be more than enough to ruin a season in the parity-filled NHL, but miraculously the Ducks are just a point out of a playoff spot, giving Carlyle a chance - for now - to turn the ship around and silence the critics.
(Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)
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