Follow @james_tanner123 Hello.
Good Morning. How are things? Did you salute your fans this morning? God forbid the media around here (Canada) covered something that had to do with actual hockey.
Though, who am I kidding, Mitch McConnell will grow lips before there's a day of sane, measured Maple Leafs or Oilers coverage. Which is good, though, because you get such a zen feeling about talking Coyotes this way.
The boys from the desert are 8-10-2 and only a measly 3 points out of the Playoffs if you account for and assume the Coyotes will win their games-in-hand. Which I do, because I am more optimistic than _______ (insert your own joke about a someone who is very optimistic) at a ______ (place where that person would be in line to receive what they're optimistic about).
The Coyotes remain competitive in the Wild Wild West, which means I am owed about 7300 apologies if and when they make it, and it gives me an excuse to provide you with this song.
So what is on tap for tonight?
Well for one, the NHL is finally providing me with an afternoon game (St.Louis and Ottawa) on a Saturday, which gives me a the chance to shake my marriage to it's very foundation with the totally sweet and at the same time dreaded Triple Header.
3 hockey games in one day? Obama making me feel like it's 2008? A "beautiful" bottle of ten-dollar wine just sitting there waiting to get opened? It's like it's Christmas already baby.
So that means - I assume- that the Coyotes are going to destroy the Sharks tonight. This should be a good test for the them, they're coming off a tough loss to the Stars in which they played well enough to win (if winning didn't involve scoring goals! Zing!) and a stretch of four straight games where they got a point.
This team seems to be coming into its own. Gagner is starting to fit in a little better, the youth is starting to get mixed in, both goalies have been good....now if only Boedker could be his own centre.
I like where this is going. What I don't like? The Sharks lost to Buffalo and Florida this week which means they are going to try like hell avoid losing to the Coyotes and being - I assume - the first expected-to-be-great team to complete the NHL's walk of shame. Regardless of where they sit in the standings or how good the teams actually are (for instance, the Panthers are actually pretty good and getting better) it just doesn't seem right to lose to the Sabres,Panthers, Coyotes in one week.
But it's gonna happen. I keep seeing people ask "can the Coyotes turn things around," and I have to ask myself, who makes this stuff up? Five games in a row of playing good doesn't count or what? Jeez!
Anyways, Hanzal is a game-time decision and the Smithster is the likely goalie, although, since the team isn't having a pre-game skate or practice, we'll have to await until it's announced officially.
I just got a page from Miss Cleo.......she says Coyotes 6 Sharks 1 which she predicts will lead to a domino effect of Todd McLellen being fired and then coaching in Toronto by the end of the week!
Of course, I salute all seven of you.
Thanks for reading.