DETROIT -- Henrik Zetterberg called it a disgrace. Nicklas Lidstrom said it was the worst performance he can recall in 19 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

Joey MacDonald said it seemed like the St. Louis Blues had an extra player on the ice all night long. And coach Mike Babcock summed up the feelings of everyone in red and white by saying, "thank God it’s over."

The Red Wings failed to compete Wednesday, turning in a stunningly poor performance in a 10-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Joe Louis Arena.

In a nutshell, a Detroit team that is supposed to be preparing for a Stanley Cup was outworked all over the ice by a club that is all but eliminated from the playoffs. The Blues scored eight goals through two periods while the Red Wings were booed off the ice by a sellout crowd of 20,066.

"No explanation really, it’s just that we got embarrassed at home, we got embarrassed in front of the home crowd," Lidstrom said. "We got booed off the ice and rightfully so. We were just awful tonight.

"We got outbattled, outworked, just had a terrible game."

It was the most goals the Red Wings have allowed since a 10-3 loss at Los Angeles on Oct. 9, 1993.

It was the first time they have given up eight goals through two periods since March 14, 1986, in a 12-3 loss to Edmonton.

"Today was a disgrace," Zetterberg said. "If we play like this in the playoffs, it’s going to be an early exit."

The Red Wings wrapped up a five-game homestand with a 1-2-2 record. They are 10-12-4 in their past 26 home games.

"We weren’t very good, obviously, the puck kept going in our net," Babcock said. "We didn’t play good enough, we didn’t compete hard enough. That’s the bottom line. ... It looked like it was never going to end there for a while.

"Obviously, we all have to take a look at ourselves and do a much better job because this is unacceptable."

Many of the problems that have plagued the Red Wings the past few months resurfaced.

They failed to start on time, committed too many turnovers and struggled defensively. It was so bad that both of their goaltenders were pulled. MacDonald left at 5:23 of the second period after allowing five goals on 25 shots. But he returned at the start of the third, after Thomas McCollum, in his NHL debut, surrendered three goals on eight shots, in front of a team that simply was not engaged.

"We didn’t help out our goaltending at all," Lidstrom said. "They were first on pucks in front of our net, they were there for rebounds."

Leading 3-2 after the first period, the Blues blew it open with five goals in the second.

Matt D’Agostini scored on the power play at 1:54. B.J. Crombeen scored from the slot at 5:23. McCollum entered the game, but the onslaught continued. David Backes scored a power-play goal at 10:04. After Zetterberg answered on the power-play at 12:37, St. Louis scored two more times — Roman Polak at 14:47 and Vladimir Sobotka at 16:10.

"There weren’t many battles we won in the D-zone," MacDonald said. "They had an open guy every time out front and capitalized on their opportunity."

"It seemed our D were coming back our way all night long. It’s tough on everybody when we’re playing the whole night in our own end."

McCollum, who was reassigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins after the game because Jimmy Howard (sprained left shoulder) is ready to return Saturday in Nashville, said, "Obviously, I didn’t play my best, but things can only go up from here."

Several players picked him up by telling him it wasn’t his fault, but McCollum said, "I think most of those goals I definitely could have had."

The game actually got off to a promising start for Detroit, as Mike Modano fired in a long rebound at 5:51 of the first period. Following goals by Chris Stewart (14:06) and Cam Janssen (16:04), Todd Bertuzzi tied it at 2-2 at 17:05.

It was all downhill for Detroit after that.

"Double digits, it doesn’t happen very often in the National Hockey League and it certainly doesn’t happen very often against this team in this building," Backes said. "They’re a team that plays great defensively and you’re usually trying to keep them from putting up double digits."

Asked what Babcock said to the team, Lidstrom said, "He didn’t have to say a whole lot. We said a lot of things in here."

With just five games left, Babcock and players said they must quickly get this mess out of their system.

"A game like tonight, we just want to forget about it, move on," Lidstrom said. "We know we got outworked. And that’s something we can correct. It’s not a matter of systems or how we’re playing. It’s just a matter of working harder and smarter and doing your job."

Said Babcock: "Players watched it and went through it, and I did the same thing, and it’ll still be here tomorrow and it’s going to be here until we play next. We’re going to have some work to do tomorrow and the next day to prepare."