Didn't Think Much About The Phoenix Coyotes....

Think Again

Going into last nights game, my mind never came across the Phoenix Coyotes being able to stick with the Nashville Predators, nevertheless beating them in double overtime after a set face off play left Ray Whitney open back door behind one of the best defenseman in the league in Shea Weber. However, looking deep into a  team that is owned by the NHL, doesn't have many prospective buyers to keep them in Glendale, Arizona, and is surrounded by big time divisional teams like the Los Angeles Kings, and you see a speedy, deep team that compete with the best of them.

Before going into why the Coyotes are playing so well, first you have to comment GM Don Maloney. Without much to work with, Maloney has put together a team that has been on the uprise the past few seasons and have now made the playoffs the past three seasons. The other person you have to look at for this rise in the past few years in Head Coach Dave Tippett, who in his 9 NHL seasons as a bench boss, has only missed the playoffs once. In three seasons with Phoenix, Tippett has done a tremendous job working with what players he has in front of him. The past two seasons, the Coyotes had early exits in the first round of the playoffs, however, after gaining steam down the stretch, the Coyotes find themselves in a very good position this year.

The question is how are they able to sustain such a consistent performance with a team that sits $10 million below the cap maximum? One reason is Tippett's coaching while the other is the players buying into what their head coach has to say. With this, if they continue to do so, the Coyotes just might see themselves pushing further than just the second round of the NHL Playoffs. Defensively, the Coyotes do not panic. Instead, they give teams the outside to move the puck once they enter the zone. The key is they keep the other teams outside and collapse in the middle into a structure some coaches would call the "house." They block as many shots as they can, as seen by the 15 they had last night. The other key is the man between the pipes, Mike Smith. He has been nothing short of sensational down the stretch and so far in the playoffs winning countless overtime games in round one while already winning another in round two last night. The defense, led by veteran Keith Yandle, also do a nice job of keeping the other teams away from their netminder. Whatever does make it to the net is swallowed by Mike Smith and the big defensive bodies then push the offenders away from the net. 

On the offensive side of the puck, the Coyotes are led by well-respected Captain Shane Doan. They are not flashy nor overly physical. Instead, the Coyotes come with speed into the zone and force the opposing defense to make a play. They also try to create off man rushes out of their own zone when gaining control by using that speed. Contributors in that area include Stanley Cup winner Ray Whitney, newly crowned 35 goal scorer Radim Vrbata, two time round one overtime scorer Mikkel Boedker, Martin Hanzal, and Antoine Vermette, among others. They are not big bodied or overly aggressive, yet very speedy and shifty. Whenever the opportunity comes for an open shot, they take it and crash the net for the rebound. The speed keeps defenders on their heels while allowing the Coyotes a little extra space which is all they need. 

So far, this playoffs, the one thing the Coyotes have done is kept games close. They are well conditioned for overtime games and do not panic. Instead, they seem calm as if it were early on in the game. When their opponent least expects it, they strike, as seen with the beautiful overtime winner off the set faceoff play by Ray Whitney last night. Most of the first overtime they were on their heels but did not panic. They stayed with the game plan of allowing their goalie to keep them in it while limiting the amount of quality scoring chances. When the opportunity to end the game arose, Phoenix made no mistake. 

At this point I think everyone needs to throw the Coyotes into the mix because they are far from out of it. If they keep up the way they are playing in Head Coach Dave Tippett's system, you just may see the desert win a date with Lord Stanley's Cup.