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Coyotes Obvious Weaknesses On Full Display With Oilers Victory

January 19, 2020, 5:28 PM ET [34 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
A 7 goal victory against the Coyotes was an impressive way to highlight a January that saw the Oilers record only a single regulation loss. Through this past month, the Oilers have been led by not only their top forwards but have received help throughout their lineup. Here is a look at all the Oilers forwards who have produced through the month of January.

Draisaitl: 4-9-13
McDavid: 5-7-12
RNH: 5-4-9
Sheahan: 3-3-6
Archibald: 3-3-6
Yamamoto: 2-3-5
Chiasson: 2-2-4
Nygard: 1-2-3
Gagner: 1-0-0
Haas: 1-0-0

Now compare this to the Coyotes

Hall: 5-6-11
Kessel: 2-7-9
Garland: 2-5-7
Dvorak: 4-2-6
Crouse: 4-1-5
Keller: 2-2-4
Stepan: 1-3-4
Soderberg: 2-1-3
Schmaltz: 0-3-3
Richardson: 0-2-2
Fischer: 0-1-1

One of the reasons the Coyotes have had success this season has been spreading goal scoring through their lineup and to the Oilers credit they have done a superior job in this category. Yamamoto has been one of the most helpful contributors to secondary scoring but Archibald and Sheahan have both provided more than strong defensive play.

The Coyotes have scored at a good clip, but it's their goaltending that has been a much more pressing issue. Their goaltending and inability to keep the puck out of their own net.

Since the beginning of December, the Coyotes rank near the worst in terms of 5 on 5 goals allowed. They have allowed the 4th most goals at 5 on 5 in the league during that period.

Through his first 10 games this season, Antti Raanta only had 2 starts below 0.900. In his last 10 games, only 5 starts have been above 0.900. Kuemper is a true starter but Raanta has slipped severely. It is a good thing that Kuemper should return soon otherwise the Coyotes would seriously need to think about packaging a player like Garland, Hayton, future draft picks etc and trade for a goalie. Honestly it isn't a difficult concept. Maybe even seen if a team will bite on Hall if it means getting another good goalie.

A team like Arizona shouldn't be so ignorant to the importance of goalies and with the resources they have at their disposal they should be able to figure this out.

The Coyotes made a big splash early obtaining Hall but the real issues on their roster might be elsewhere and Chayka likely won't have the ability to pull the trigger on fixing these problems.

Now, Arizona will have over a week to assess and try and figure out how to right the ship and avoid slipping further in the standings. The Coyotes may be tied with the likes of Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton but have also played more games than any of them. While the Flames, Canucks, and Oilers have been rising in the standings the Coyotes sure have picked the worst time to falter.

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Lastly, Taylor Hall must have had mixed feelings about returning to Edmonton and seeing his former team light the lamp repeatedly and see how much fun they have been having. Hall has said frequently in the past that he would love to play for in a Canadian market where the fanbase actually appreciates hockey. At this point in his career, Hall has made more than enough money and his biggest priority has switched to being a part of a winning team.

Some have suggested Hall should be worth 10+ million in the Panarin range but I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a discount in order to allow his future team more space to be a threat. Don't count out Edmonton as a potential destination for Taylor Hall this summer. There is no way that Hall is going to extend in Arizona.

I 100% guarantee that.

Thanks for reading.
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