The Coyotes extended their win streak to 5 games with a shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks. It took 6 shooters to decide who would take home the skills competition and in those situations you really feel for the goalies. Not as much as you feel for football goalies, but it's a similar principle, you need to remain perfect or hope your opponent messes up just to get a measly one point. It's hardly as glamorous as a triple overtime win. With the win the Coyotes remain in that hunt to get out of the tight as heck Pacific Division and hold steady at 24 points remaining in third but closing in on the Sharks.
The Coyotes have made Jobing.com (ugg, wish they could get a snazzier name) a real fortress for them and that has become a real key for their playoff contention both this season and in years past. Alright maybe "fortress" is a bit of a stretch, but they've certainly made themselves a difficult team to beat at home and are usually upper-middle class in the field year in and year out at home. So far they remain only one of three...all Pacific top dogs...to remain undefeated in regulation at home and due to having played more games than the Sharks and Ducks have the best home record in the NHL at 7-0-1.
The Coyotes opened the score early on a nice bit of forecheck and luck. Doan went in to pressure the defense and Hanzal just sent it to the net, Vrbata got a tip on it and it fooled Luongo. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It's the second game in a row where the Coyotes have scored in the first minute-ish of the game. That's Vrbata's team leading 6th goal. An interesting thought occurred to me during the game and that has been the play of Vrbata and how important he has been to this club since being re-acquired in the 2009-2010 season. The past three seasons he has really stepped up his game from a serviceable 2nd/3rd line scorer, to a legitimate top-line player...now before you scoff you have to check his production.
2011-2012 : 77 games 35 goals 67 points 2012-2013 : 34 games 12 goals 28 points 2013-2014 : 16 games 6 goals 13 points
Now he's producing like this at the small price of 3 million, this being the final year of his contract. What will the 32 (soon to be 33) year old winger get on the open market? What is he worth? Personally I think he's worth 4.5 million and not really a cent more. He's found a home here and he's thriving, but we've seen Vrbata have major ups and downs in his career and the only place he has found real consistency is in the desert. Also seriously...shootout specialist or what? He almost never misses.
Mike Smith overall had a solid game, both goals were on screens and just excellently placed shots by the Canucks...that Kesler shot...beauty. He was uncharacteristic in letting those high shots in, usually he has those and it's when things get scrambling that he tends to lose sight of the puck. Regardless he and Luongo were both excellent and both are still fighting for a place on Team Canada. Smith now leads the league in saves in a tie with Buffalo's Ryan Miller and shots against...also tied with Miller. He's seeing a lot of rubber this year, and sadly I think that trend will continue.
Keith Yandle continues to add to his impressive point totals getting another assist. He was the only defenseman on the team to register a point in a rather uncharacteristically low scoring game from the point. The Coyotes trio of OEL-Yandle-Morris have been on fire in the offensive zone combining for 33 points already. That's the top production of any defense trio in the league including one of the strongest in Pietrangelo-Shattenkirk-Bouwmeester in St. Louis. Yandle has 11 points in his past 9 games.
Shane Doan started the year pretty poorly, it really looked like age was catching up to him, but he's looking like his old self these days. He's really coming through on the PP and leagues the team in power play goals with 3. He scored another on a one-timer to tie the game at 2-2. He has 6 points in his last 6 games including 4 goals.
Mike Ribeiro has been fairly disappointing these past few games. He was destroyed in the face-off dot this game and was outmatched all game. I was surprised to see him out on the penalty kill, though with Vermette and Hanzal both being in the box at one point, it made some sense. Also, Kesler vs Ribeiro in the dot? Not a good match any day of the week. He's only had one assist in the past 7 games after that major hot streak following the call-out after the Islanders blowout. It's nice that Hanzal and Vermette are really bringing their games to the next level in the offensive zone this early season, but Ribeiro is their first line centre and needs to produce like he's paid to.
David Moss had a strong game. Not just for getting the assist, but for being engaged. He's been floating under the radar this season and while he's still decent on the penalty kill he hasn't been as "in the zone" as he needs to be. He provides a lot of things for that third line including some size, some physical play and some net drive...but the net drive hasn't really happened this year. He had a few good looks and three scoring chances. I liked him being physical too, he's the kind of guy that if he doesn't play that way he losses a lot of his effectiveness.
I really much prefer this defense without Schlemko. I don't want to call him out because he isn't a bad player, I just feel he isn't what the Coyotes need on a consistent basis. He's fine as a 7th defender who can relieve players who might be nursing some injuries and give you 15 minutes of good hockey, but he isn't better than Stone or even close to him, he isn't as stable as a healthy Klesla (which I'll give you is a rare thing indeed), nor does he bring some of the dynamism that Rundblad can. Stone played exceedingly well, especially in his own zone. I just wish Tippett had a little more trust in him, because the 23 year old is a great young defender and a top-4 guy in the making.
Coyotes Three Stars
1. Mike Smith - 31 saves on 33 shots, .939sv%, voodoo dolled Sedin into losing the puck.
2. Shane Doan - 1 goal, 8 shots, 4 hits, scored the tying goal and directly responsible for the first goal.
3. Keith Yandle - 1 assist, played a season high 28:47 minutes and had a few excellent defensive plays.
Next up the Ducks in a back to back that will really test the Coyotes as they play in Anaheim who are not only one of the best teams in the league, but on a hot streak themselves. Thanks for reading.