Twitter:@Coyotes1234
Earlier this year, the Coyotes were the first team to face the Jets the day after they fired their coach, in a game they had virtually no chance to win.
Today they face a similar situation when the Blues come to town to play their first game with Ryan Miller and Steve Ott. As with the Jets earlier in January, the Blues are likely to be so up for the game that the Coyotes will barely have a chance.
Still, stranger things have happened, and the Coyotes will counter with Mike Smith after Thomas Greiss failed to win on Friday against the Avalanche.
This game tonight is as close to a "must win" as the Coyotes have had all season. Should they lose, they face the prospect of having earned 1 of 6 available points since the NHL started back up. This will all but eliminate them from post season contention because there are just too many teams fighting for the final playoff spot.
Now, they could obviously get back into it with a winning streak and one game doesn't make or break an entire season, but resuming the season with 1 point out of 6 might prove an impossible hill to climb.
Changes for tonight's lineup are minor: Bissonnette is back in, at the expense of McMillan, perhaps owing to the fact that no one did anything to stick up for Ekman-Larsson when he was pasted into the boards from behind last week.
Also, Korpikoski and Moss are going to flank centre Mike Ribeiro on the third line. To me, this is a ridiculous move. I am becoming less and less enamored with Dave Tippett by the day. Where is the logic in playing your best and most talented offensive centre on the third line and flanking him with losers who can't score?
I get that maybe Ribeiro hasn't exactly been successful since the Coyotes acquired him, and that he is bad defensively and often disinterested and maybe doesn't have the best attitude. If that stuff is true, then work on getting rid of him after the season is over, but don't sacrifice everything that he can do well just to make a point.
This is, after all, a team that can not score.
They have to play him, and so why not use him to the advantage of the team? Give him a couple guys who can score and hope that you can someone manage more than two goals per game as a team.
I don't know. I am not the biggest fan of Ribeiro, but he is the team's most talented offensive centre by a massive amount, no disrespect to the rather flukey recent output of Vermette.
If the Coyotes lose tonight, I want to see them move Runblad, Yandle, maybe even Morris or Michalek, Ribeiro, Doan, Vrabata,Vermette anyone with some value who won't be part of the team when it starts winning.
It would be way more fun to watch kids like Samuelson, Brown, Murphy, Gormely and Stone playing out the string than a bunch of vets who aren't going to be here much longer anyways.
I would also be happy with some additional scoring added to the lineup.
The only thing I am not happy with is doing nothing. Either blow it up (it would really be more of a retooling) or try to win. But doing nothing is an insult to everyone who follows this team.