Twitter:Coyotes1234
The Coyotes got their third win in four games last night defeating the Tampa Bay lightning in overtime to recover after allowing the tying goal in the last minute of play.
The youth of the Coyotes was on full display last night, and thus the game was doubly exciting because not only was it a game fraught with playoff implications, it also was a game that allowed us to witness the future: - 23 year old Brandon McMillan, while no one's idea of a top prospect, scored his second goal of the season and his 3rd point in six games. He's been quietly effective in limited minutes.
- Brandon Gormely made his NHL debut, and he looked solid in 13 minutes of ice time, picking up a hit, a blocked shot and not making any glaring errors that I saw. Protected minutes, obviously, but a nice, if unspectacular, debut.
-Andy Miele only played 10:00 and wasn't especially noticeable, but that can be a good thing. He might not ever be an NHL regular, or he might be a late blooming scoring centre. Odds on the former, but that's why you play the games, right?
- Chris Summers, who is 26 and a former first round pick (29) has played in parts of four seasons with Phoenix. Even though he's on a one year contract, has been on waivers and maybe hasn't developed like they thought he might, he appears to be "just" another young defenseman on a team stacked with them. He's a defensive defenseman and maybe they take longer to develop, so there is still a chance he could be an effective NHLer. Either way, the depth and youth of the Coyote's blueline is just ridiculous.
- In Comparison to Summers and Gormely, Michael Stone is a veteran. Only 23, he played the PK and had almost 24:00 minutes last night. His development may be the unsung bright spot of the Coyote's season so far.
-Let's not forget that the teams best player, OEL, is only 22.
Overall, the youth showed by the Coyotes last night was only a fraction of what the team possess: they also have Hanzel, a 6'6 power forward who only gets better, Connor Murphy, a future star of the blue line (currently in Portland,but due to the depth on D and not his game) as well as Max Domi. Coupled with the excitement of a playoff drive and stable ownership for the first time ever, it is probably the best time to be a fan in the history of the franchise.
If they can pull out a playoff birth, I predict that they will make it very uncomfortable for whoever they match up against in the first round. With the ability of Smith to steal games and the depth on defense, the playoffs, which are typically lower scoring, might just feature the ideal style of games for the Coyotes to take advantage of. Not that they are necessarily a Cup threat, but underrated against, say, the Ducks or the Blues, they might be a good bet for at least one upset.
Not to delight in anyone getting an injury, but with Kari Lehtonen going down with a concussion, the Coyotes playoff chances just improved greatly.
Of note in the win last night:
-Martin Erat - though not getting much ice time - managed to double his goal output for the year by notching his inaugural goal as a Coyote.
-The shootout goal scored by Radim Vrbata was just beautiful. See it if you haven't.
- Michael Stone was awesome all night.
- Steven Stamkos didn't look right to my eyes. Is it possible he rushed back too soon? When was the last time this guy went four games without a point?
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The Coyotes allowed another third period comeback last night and seem to be pretty terrible when it comes to playing with a lead. They aren't a good scoring team, so this is a bit of a problem. If they could tighten up defensively, I think the playoffs would be a lock.
I feel like there is an easy solution that would make the Coyotes harder to play against and especially harder to score on: Stop using Antoine Vermette as their first line centre.
Vermette has had an excellent year. He is fourth in team scoring and leads the forwards on the team in ice time. Since the Christmas, he has been on fire and has seemed to usurp Ribeiro's position as the go-to offensive centre.
There isn't anything wrong with leaning on Vermette's offense because he's been spectacular, but I can't help thinking that since he isn't vaulting the Coyotes into the upper echelon of NHL scoring, that they are sacrificing a part of his game that no one else on the roster can come close to replicating.
While Vermette is a decent offensive player, he's currently scoring at a pace he cannot hope to sustain and he's probably the worst offensive top-line centre in the NHL. I think, however, what he can bring on the other side of the puck actually is elite. As a defensive forward, Vermette is among the NHL's best and I think the Coyotes would get more out of him by utilizing him to better suit his strengths.
I think that if they could use him more as a shutdown player that they could get back to being the defensively stifling team their (read:Tippets]'s) reputation suggests they can be.
It's just a thought, and I don't pretend to know better than the coach.
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It's right back to the ice tonight as the Coyotes will face the Panthers as their road trip continues.
The game starts at the hilarious time of 4:30 in the afternoon if you are in Arizona. Thankfully, I live on the East Coast and can watch the game at a normal time. Weirdly though, my usual Tuesday double header of a Leafs game early and a Coyotes game late will be reversed tonight with the two teams on the opposite of their normal coasts.
Schlemko left the team and returned to Arizona, so it looks like Gormley will get right back into the lineup tonight. Stone played better than Morris ever does, so I hope to see him high up in the lineup again and Morris as a healthy scratch for the second game in a row, as I liked the pairing of Summers/Gormley. Overall, it seemed to make the Coyotes a lot faster with Summers and Gormely compared to Schlemko and Morris.
No word yet on who will play net tonight, but it seems like a good time and game to get some work for Greiss.
Scratch that! No sooner do I post this than the Coyotes that they will go with the same lineup tonight, including Mike Smith.
Thanks for reading.