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Pretty sweet watching the game in HD tonight, even though it was the Blue Jackets feed.
Coyotes vs. Red Wings is supposed to be on tomorrow night in HD during the free Center Ice period.
It sure was a beautiful broadcast, but wow, those Blue Jackets' announcers are horrid! What a couple of homers. The play where the Yotes clearing pass bounced off the ref and the announcer says, "great defensive coverage by so and so".... puuuhleeez.
Tough break on last night's loss. The Coyotes were up 2-1 going into the third only to lose 3-2. That's why Detroit is the class of the Western Conference and why coming in 8th place won't be good enough for the Coyotes. Luckily the whole field is still packed, Phoenix is only 4 points out of 5th place (but only 6 points away from 14th). Its going to be a dogfight until the end.
Here are 10 reasons why the Coyotes should make the playoffs this spring: 1. Bryzgalov is boffo: People forget that Bryzgalov isn't a new kid on the block. He has won three playoff series and played a significant role in the Ducks' success, even though he was not in the net for the Stanley Cup Finals last spring. He's not hot. He's talented 2. Pacific king: The Coyotes have a 12-6 record against teams within the Pacific Division, and they have 14 more games left within the division. The Coyotes have more divisional wins than any team in the Pacific. 3. Great influence: Who knows why Gretzky wanted to coach after the amazing career he enjoyed as a player, but he's clearly making an impact with this group. It was painful to watch Gretzky suffer with the Coyotes when they were such an amazingly weak team, but now it looks like he's having fun. You can see his influence with the younger players and with the way the Coyotes attack offensively. 4. Doan delivers: Captain Shane Doan is playing some of the best hockey of his NHL career and probably will set a career high in points. Since Dec. 16, he has at least one point in 18 of 20 games. He has been a passionate flag carrier for this team. 5. Jovo-Cop on patrol: Defenseman Ed Jovanovski is playing like he did in his best years in Vancouver. He's moving up into the play and playing with an edge. 6. Underrated defense: Much earlier this season, I was talking to Scotty Bowman about how competitive the Western Conference was and he pointed out that he believed the Phoenix defensive corps was underrated. Now, many people think that. Although Rick Nash treated them rudely on his Goal of the Year, the tandem of Derek Morris and Keith Ballard has been quite effective this season. 7. Coyotes can howl: This Phoenix group is a plucky bunch. The Coyotes are 16-11-0 on the road, and they have played the West-leading Detroit Red Wings tough since Bryzgalov entered the lineup. Essentially, every game has been a one-goal decision (although one also had an empty netter) and the Coyotes led by a goal going into the third period of two of the games. The other game was tied 2-2 going into the third. 8. Peter Principle: Peter Mueller is just 19, but he's already one of the team's most important offensive weapons. He has 15 goals, and he has had 10 points in his past seven games. More important, his development seems to be taking a quantum leap over the past few weeks. He could be a 25-goal scorer by season's end. 9. Vroom Vroom Vrbata: At 26, Vrbata has been revved up all season. He's leading the Coyotes with 22 goals, more than he has ever scored in any of his six previous NHL seasons. 10. Phoenix rising: The Coyotes seem to be wrapped in good karma finally. Many of the moves that former general manager Mike Barnett made are paying off now, and new general manager Don Maloney has tweaked the competitiveness enough to make a difference. Young players such as penalty minute king Dan Carcillo and gifted offensive player Martin Hanzal are making a difference. At 25, Zbynek Michalek is getting better results. Veteran Steven Reinprecht is scoring enough to contribute. It's all working for the Coyotes for the first time in a long time.
Great win by the Coyotes tonight against Colorado, especially to come from behind on the road to tie it up late in the third. The Avalanche got absolutely worked by Reinprecht and Vrbata on the tying goal. Off of a faceoff in Colorado's zone, rather than drawing the puck back Reinprecht pushed the puck forward just past the other center, then passed it across the crease to Vrbata for an open net goal. Set plays don't come any prettier, and off of a faceoff no less. One of the best highlight goals for Phoenix this year.
Vrbata also had the overtime winner, giving him 24 goals and 42 points so far this season. He's on pace for 38 goals, and an impending free agent. He's GM Maloney's biggest priority, but the danger is that Vrbata really hasn't come close to a year like this before in the NHL. Shane Doan now has 51 points in 52 games, it would be great to see him finish the season scoring at a point per game clip. With the two points, the Coyotes now move into 8th place, and are just two points out of a tie for 5th place, with a game in Calgary tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Hanzal will miss at least tonight's game due to a shoulder injury suffered against Colorado. Bill Thomas has been called up to replace Hanzal, hopefully he will be back soon.
Ugh... unbelievable. The Coyotes lose 4-3 in a shootout despite being up 3-0 with 20 minutes to play. Calgary tied it with 9 seconds to go. This one burns more than losing to Detroit after being up in the third. A contender can't let these kind of points get away.
Worst loss of the year. If they lose out of the playoffs by one point, just look at this game. They need to forget this game fast because if not, it will hard to get momentum going.
I was actually at the game last night and I think the loss was my fault. I sent a text to a friend in Phoenix saying how much fun it was to watch the Coyotes go up 3-0. That was at second intermission. Then all hell broke loose and the Yotes lost. My bad.
The Coyotes went into sitting on a lead mode way too early. They had that building silenced and any noise was boos. Calgary had just lost the night before to Edmonton 5-0. All they had to do was have a decent period with some energy and they would have had the win with no problem. Instead they came out with 0 energy and lost. Pretty bad loss to say the least
As disappointing as losing that second point to Calgary was, the Coyotes still picked up 6 points in 5 games which is a pretty good road trip. They need to keep their momentum going for tomorrow's home game against Columbus. Luckily for Phoenix, Pascal Leclaire won't be in net for the Blue Jackets. The Coyotes sit 9th in the standings, one point back of 7th place Nashville and three back of 5th place Anaheim.
777-1 should be in HD! *crosses fingers*
Linear Mode
