One day after the season seemed potentially over after a devastating injury to Mike Smith, the Coyotes had the daunting task of facing Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins were without star forward Evgeni Malkin and star defenseman Kris Letang, but they nevertheless present a formidable challenge, especially for a team who's current position is almost 100% because of their now injured goalie.
Despite the seeming mismatch, the Coyotes came out strong and even opened the scoring with a rare goal from David Moss, his seventh.
The teams traded goals for the rest of the first and went to intermission tied 2-2. Boedker scored nearly half-way through the second and the Coyotes hung on from there.
The final half of the game featured no goals and this was partially due to the Coyotes playing well and limiting the amount of shots Pittsburgh was able to get, but mostly it was due to Thomas Greiss.
As the NHL's least used back up goalie, no one really knew what to expect from Greiss in his first game after Smith's injury. Would he step in seamlessly as he has done most of the year and hold down the fort behind a decent defensive team? Or would this injury be like the one to Toronto's Jonathan Bernier which appears to have cost the Leafs their season when back up James Reimer was unable to carry the load after being given the net?
While one game is too soon to tell, the signs are encouraging. Greiss stopped all fifteen shots he faced after allowing the second Penguins goal and best of all, the Coyotes choked the life out of the Penguins for nearly the entire game, limiting scoring chances and controlling the play.
Granted, the Penguins were without a whole bunch of significant players, but it was still a road game against a top team and the Coyotes can definitely build on this going forward.
The next game is Thursday in New Jersey and because the Stars lost last night 4-2 to the Blackhawks, the Coyotes now enjoy a 3 point lead in the quest for the final playoff spot.
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