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Tippett All-Time Franchise Winning Coach in 3-2 SO Victory |
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The Coyotes win a nail-bitter 3-2 in the shootout.
Dave Tippett as mentioned in the title takes over as the Phoenix Coyotes most winning coach of all-time. He passed Bob Francis with his 166th win as the teams Head Coach. Tippett in my opinion is undoubtedly the best coach in franchise history. Obviously the Coyotes history is hardly as illustrious as most teams, yet Tippett has been a breath of fresh air as part of the turnaround group that has made the Coyotes go from the joke of the league to a constant playoff threat. Congratulations to Tippett and Maloney for getting him on board when he did.
Facing the San Jose Sharks for the second time this season after their 4-1 loss in the second game of the year, a game that could have been 7-1 if not for the outstanding tending of Mike Smith had a similar vibe yet different result. Once again the Sharks took the play to the Coyotes and with the help of a few power plays showed the level of danger their forward group can cause. In the end they had 50 attempts on net, yet Smith bailed the Coyotes out of a potential loss. Before I go a bit into more detail I have to just say that while the Sharks might not be the perfect team, they are certainly in my eyes the most dangerous team in this early season. I know they aren’t in first, but just watching them play is frightening, especially knowing Boyle is just coming back from injury and Burns is hurt. They are an extremely impressive group and a major threat in the West.
Having said that, like the past playoff series against the Blackhawks way back in 2012, hot goaltending and capitalization can always turn the tide even if you are being outplayed. Such was the case this game. With the win the Coyotes increase their winning streak to 4 games keeping them in third place in that ultra-tight Pacific Division with 22 points. More importantly though is that they won AT San Jose, something they have struggled to do since both teams came into the league. The Sharktank is one of the most difficult places to win at and is really a fortress for them.
Mikkel Boedker had a really big game after being sat for most of the match against the Preds. He was sent a message, something that the younger players on the team seem to get more than veterans…but I digress. The 23 year old Dane responded on the new line of Boedker-Vermette-Klinkhammer and added a goal and an assist; building on that shootout goal he scored last game. They were his first points in 3 games. That line was the Coyotes best and was buzzing all night. Something that can’t be said about a certain…”first line.” Vermette had a goal and The Hammer an assist. Also for the record…guess who is tied for the lead in +/- in the NHL? Rob freaking Klinkhammer, what the heck right? What a great year he’s having.
While Yandle-Morris have had a bit of struggles defensively while simultaneously torching the league in points, I really focused on them and I’m not really liking this pairing at all. In the past they’ve been very good together and one of the constants since Tippett took over. Yet when I watch Yandle being the defensively responsible guy, the one making the conservative plays and trying his best to guard for Morris’ pinching, I begin to see a problem. Morris had turned himself into a fairly reliable defensive defenseman who can play physical, and he has been physical, I can’t take that away from him, but his attention to defense has gone out the window this season. I love that he is getting points, that’s great, but he’s leaving Yandle out to dry on 2-1’s and 1-1’s constantly. Then when Yandle does pinch himself like he did on the Pavelski 2-1 goal, Morris isn’t in great position. Something is off between them and a shakeup might be necessary, maybe get Stone beside Yandle and try Morris with Rundblad or Schlemko…actually the way those two play…might be a bad idea. Hell get Gormley in there with Morris, what could it hurt right?
The penalty kill was very strong and aside from the Boyle goal which was a bit weak (though it looked to have deflected off Michalek’s stick before going in). They managed to kill of 5 of the 6 PP’s, very impressive considering the Sharks were 4th in PP% before the game and now are 7th. It seemed like the Sharks were on the advantage for half the game, yet the Coyotes did well to only surrender one goal. A lot of credit goes to Vermette, OEL, Michalek, Hanzal and Korpikoski (who might suck at scoring these days but he’s still good defensively). Let alone mentioning Smith who stopped 20…TWENTY, you hear me, 20 shots on the PP.
The only period I feel the Coyotes really bested the Sharks uncontestedly is the overtime frame. While they led at the first, they were outplayed despite it. In overtime the Coyotes had three opportunities to really end it. Vrbata to Hanzal who whiffed on the pass back yet still got a shot on a 2-1 where Niemi made a huge save, and Ribeiro having an open net on a beautiful pass by OEL…Niemi is down and out, easy goal! Oh crap, he whiffed on that one too…oh well. Ribeiro has been pretty good thus far for the Coyotes, though he has to bury that, a 5.5 mil player buries those golden opportunities.
Coyotes Three Stars :
1. Mike Smith – 48/50 shots saved and a .960sv%
Who else, but the man who kept them in it? Another strong performance by Smith.
2. Oliver Ekman-Larsson - +2 and 31:01 minutes played
He didn’t show up on the score sheet, but that didn’t matter. He was rock solid and had a tremendous game. He and Michalek have been one of the most solid, if not the most solid defensive pairs in the NHL. Great game for both and in particular OEL.
3. Antoine Vermette – 1 goal, +2, 50% on the draw and 4 blocked shots
It isn’t easy going up against Jumbo Joe on the dot, he’s one of the best in the league, it also isn’t easy playing 5+ minutes on the PK against such a nasty group of talented buggers that the Sharks possess. Yet he did his job and has been one of the MVP’s of this team so far. He continues to really impress me and has been the perfect 3rd line soldier. Plus it always helps when you get the shootout winner.
A final word of congratulations to two players. Joe Thornton’s assist on the Boyle goal was his 800th assist of his career and Mike Ribeiro played in his 800th career game.
Thanks for reading.
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