Lot's of good and exciting things going on, but let's start this off with the bad:
Ekman-Larsson is doubtful for tomorrow's game, Tippett said. Grossmann took maintenance day.
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) March 18, 2016
OEL is likely going to miss his fifth straight game tonight against the Lightning. As long as the injury isn't long-term serious, then I think this could be a very good thing for the Coyotes in that it has exposed their defense as absolutely brutal without him.
To Wit:
Against San Jose the Coyotes were lucky to escape with a victory considering how badly they were out played. Their "top pairing" was Michael Stone and Nick Grossmann.
This was - no exaggeration - maybe one of the worst pairings ever assembled. Stone finished the game playing 20 minutes of 5v5 and posting a 30% CF. Grossmann was 21 minutes and a 28% CF. To contextualize how bad that is, anything under 45% is bad, an enforcer could be expected to post 40%. 28% is the NHL equivalent of a new Creed record if it was produced by Kid Rock and featured guest spots from Hoobastank, Chumba Wumba and whoever sings the song "Closing Time."
For a top pairing to post under 30% over 20 minutes is something you're more likely to see in an international game with Team Canada playing Belerus, not an NHL game.
But Jim, It's just one game!
Is it?
Just consider that this level of poor play comes from a different pairing on a team that pairs Michalek and Dahlbeck - what is likely the worst pairing in hockey.
In the games against the Canucks and Flames, the pairing of Stone and Grossman wasn't so bad - over 50% both times. But against teams that can skate more than one good line - SJ and Edmonton - they were crushed.
After the last two games, one hopes Tippett changes his pairings because Grossmann/Stone are shockingly bad. The Coyotes have recalled Philip Sameulson, which doesn't say alot about what they think of that player considering they play Grossmann, Michalek and Dahlbeck - not to mention Tinordi - ahead of him.
The injury to OEL has exposed the Coyotes' defense as the absolute worst in hockey (as if that wasn't clear already). It's nice to have one of the top five dmen in all of hockey, but my assessment is that if I was the owner of this team, I would fire Don Maloney based on the state of the team's defense.
But there is a bright side: The new Kenrick Lamar album is amazing, the Americans is back and the book Dune continues to amaze me. As far as hockey goes though?
I find myself looking forward to the draft lottery, the draft, free agency and basesball.
All stats waronice.com
Thanks for reading