The Arizona Coyotes have been one of the biggest surprises in the early going of the 2015-16 season.
They were probably the consensus pick to finish last in the standings yet a month into the year they're over .500 and are just a point back of Los Angeles for 1st in the Pacific Division.
In this edition of the hotstove we discuss whether or not they are for real and can continue to collect wins at the pace they have thus far.
Todd Cordell The 'Yotes have some promising young pieces (Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, etc.) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the top blue liners in hockey but, no, they are not for real.
Even after the 6-0 beat down they took from the Boston Bruins the Coyotes still have a .934 team save percentage during 5 vs 5 play. I have a very hard time believing a Mike Smith/Anders Lindback will be able to keep stopping pucks anywhere close to that pace.
The Coyotes are also scoring on 9.5% of the shots they take at full-strength. Dallas led the league last season with an 8.8 shooting percentage so it's safe to say the Coyotes will regress in that regard.
I think they have a bright future but they still have a ways to go. When all is said and done I don't see them making the playoffs and I don't think they'll be close, either.
James Tanner The Arizona Coyotes are real. They exist and unless all of this is a figment of my imagination/ the Matrix, they are an actual team.
But if you mean is their hot start real, then the answer is not a chance.
Look, I want to say yes, but I also want to be the GM of the team, and neither has a realistic chance of happening. The Coyotes have rode hot goaltending and super high shooting percentages to victory so far.
But they should have lost a few of the games they ended up winning and they are the worst team in hockey at centre. The only way they are for real is if Mike Smith wins the Vezina.
Tim Chiasson No.
They're having a great start, yes, but they won't be at the top of the Pacific Division all season. This is still a team on the upward trend and while it's fun to watch Max Domi be Max Domi, the overall play of the Coyotes is going to come back down to earth.
They're probably the most fun out of any NHL team to watch right now, and I'll miss the entertainment when it's gone, but they won't be able to keep this up. You never know though, the entire world had to wait until the playoffs for the Calgary Flames luck to run out, maybe Coyotes are this year's 2013-2014 Avlanche/2014-2015 Flames.
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