Follow @james_tanner123 After bizarrely using Smith in both games of a back-to-back, the Coyotes look to once again be going back to the dried up well that is Mike Smith's career. Dubnyk has played well, but for the same logic that makes Doan a first line player, Smith will have the crease no matter what happens.
Not that the team plays excellent in front of him and that his poor play is entirely his fault, but I just think that rewarding Dubnyk for his play would be the smart thing to do since it gives the team a better chance to win and shows the rest of the young players on the roster that you can move up if you play good.
This did happen the other night when Reider got an extra five minutes following his two short handed goal performance against the Oilers on Monday. However, you could also argue that an NHL coach should know better than to base his lineup on results instead of process, in which case you could say that Reider earned a job out of training camp, but mysteriously didn't get it.
You could also point out that once he did get called up he's been one of the team's better players and deserved more ice time long before his breakout game on Monday.
You might also ask yourself why Reider, who averages about 14 minutes per game over 16 games played, averages just two seconds of PP time per game. His seven points certainly look pretty strong in light of the fact that he gets no PP time and using the old eye test, I deduce he may be one of the more talented players on the team. He is creative and fast.
I don't know, it just pisses me off. The team is the worst scoring team in the NHL. They have players with talent and they don't utilize them properly or mix it up at all. "Hey we got a power-play, let's roll out Doan and Vermette!!!!!!"
Martin Erat gets 2 minutes of PP time per game. Over 26 games he has a pathetic 12 points. Or, for Erat, based on his numbers last year, he has an amazing 12 points. Still, based on how much he plays and where and when, his numbers are garbage.
Here is a plan: Your team can't score, so TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
Why not use Reider, Boedker and Hanzal as your first PP unit? It's not crazy to think your 2 most creative forwards and your biggest one might find success with the best defensive PP combo in the NHL.
Game in and game out, I watch this team run the same players out in the same situations and see the same results. It's frustrating. And the coverage the team gets?
Well let me just sum it up by saying I DO NOT GIVE A (insert profanity) ABOUT WHEN DAVID FREAKING MOSS RETURNS TO THE LINEUP.
Wake me up when this team gets a clue.
Thanks for reading.