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Coyotes Lose to Dallas, are now 0-7 |
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Drifting very close to the point where the season is over before it's fairly begun, the Coyotes are in huge trouble. They've lost seven games in a row and Rick Tocchet's revived coaching career is off to a terrible start.
Two things need to be remembered: 1) This remains a great young team. One with tons of prospects and tons of promise. Any team with Domi and Keller and OEL should be happy. Where it goes from here is up.....eventually.
2) The Coyotes played three goalies in their first six games. Two of their seven games have been started by Adin Hill, their fourth-string goalie.
As much the Playoffs are now a very slight possibility, the Coyotes still have the ability to rebound and turn this season into a good one. The losses are piling up, but the overall play of the team hasn't been that of a team as bad as their record reflects.
Last night's game was winnable - Bishop was bad, and the Coyotes could have taken advantage if not for the fact that their fourth-string goalie played exactly how you'd expect him to.
Overall though, the Coyotes were outplayed. Had they won, it would have been lucky.
The main problem was a coaching one. Tocchet failed to adjust for the fact that Goligoski and and Hjallmarson were getting utterly destroyed by the Radulov, Seguin, Benn line.
That line had about 75% of the shot-attempts while on the ice and the Coyotes couldn't match it. Had Tocchet adjusted and put OEL out against them more, and earlier, perhaps the Coyotes win the game.
When you lose by one goal and at the end of the game Goligoski leads your team in ice time and not Ekman-Larsson, then the coach f'd up.
In fact, the coaches performance has been as bad as his team's. His lines look like the scrawled napkins of a drunk Dave Tippet lamenting his old job. Dvorak, completely wasted on a line with Martinook and Reider? Come on. Duclair, also completely wasted, on a line with Zac 'what the hell is this guy doing on this team' Rinaldo, and Mario Kempe? Jesus.
Christian Fischer, Nick Cousins and Lawson Crouse was the other line. These lines are so bad, its not possible to even say which one is the 4th line without looking at ice time. Of these nine players, Dvorak, Duclair, Martinook and Fischer are the only ones who should be in the NHL.
Like the team he coaches, we can only hope the coach gets better.
Still, the game had it's bright spots. Mostly the Domi,Stepan and Keller line. Those guys are amazing. But maybe spread them out a bit?
The Coyotes are 0-7, so it's time to bring Strome back, install him as the #2 center and get him a ton of power-play time.
It's also time to look at the bottom of the lineup.
Lots of stuff needs fixin' at this point.
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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