The Coyotes (24-18-9) are in Vancouver tonight to take on the Canucks (26-17-9). Phoenix sits only four points back of Vancouver and so tonight’s game is huge. Barring the advent of overtime, this is a four point game as the Coyotes will either sit two or six points back of Vancouver when the final buzzer sounds later today.
Thankfully, tonight’s game will be a gimmick-less affair held indoors, where games of actual NHL quality are held. Once a novelty, the NHL is now holding every third game outdoors where the games are slow, the chance of injury is increased and the media generated hype is unbearable. Of course, I also think the Olympics are weak, so what do I know, right?
Back to tonight’s game: The Coyotes have a 2-1 record vs. Vancouver this season, with a 1-0 victory coming just over a week ago, a game in which Mike Smith recorded his first and only shutout of the season so far.
Tonight looks like a game that the Coyotes have to win because they are facing a team that is missing its best player (Henrick Sedin) and whose other best player (Daniel Sedin) is in a bit of a slump, not having any goals so far since New Years. Of course, that also means he’s due.
Vancouver is also without their coach John Tortorella, who has been ridiculously suspended for a preposterous amount of time (15 days) for his role in the awesome and hilarious brawl from last Saturday. Barely anyone in hockey has any personality so I think John Tortorella ought to be celebrated, not disciplined.
I would suspect after the win that Tippett will keep the same lineup he had on Friday which means Smith in net, no Szwarz and no Rundblad. I like to rag on Halpern quite a bit but I have to admit, he’s been pretty decent lately. Inexplicably Tippett will likely continue to play Boedker on the third line with Vermette. I would like to see them put together a real first line of Hanzal centering Vrbata and Boedker that plays over 20 minutes a game. Of course I’d also like to see interviews with hockey general managers that are interesting and where they say something at least half-way quotable.
To that end, GM Don Maloney gave a couple interviews this week. I am not going to link to them and I don’t suggest you read them either. Don essentially gave stock answers to softball questions. Thrilling.
Of course, with us living in the ‘Gotcha Age’ where anyone who says or does anything slightly off centre is subject to mass bullying and criticism on Twitter and just about everywhere else, who can blame him? Just look at the mess created when Team USA gave journalists access to their selection process, or last week’s Seahawks game. Anyone interesting is vilified and mocked, so instead we get white-washed interviews with boring answers.
Although, to be fair to Maloney, what is he supposed to say? Our team has been brutal? I can’t make any trades because of the restrictive salary cap and three point games that keep even the worst team’s playoff hopes alive for way too long? You would figure he’d give at least one good quote, but what can you do?
---- The Week Ahead:
After playing the Canucks tonight, the Coyotes return home to play Los Angeles, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Here’s hoping they can put a little streak together to climb back into the thick of the playoff race.
*This article was written while listening to the excellent new record by Arcade Fire called Reflector. If you like music, or if you’re interested in hearing some real Canadian music, as opposed to the ridiculous Canada Fest (Trooper? Really?) that the Coyotes are promoting, you should check it out.
As always, Thanks for Reading and hit me up at the old Tweet Zone @Coyotes1234