Well I guess that’s why they call them the Blues. The St. Louis team is on a downward spiral assisted by the broom wielding Bryzgalov. Coyotes with the series sweeping end score 2 - 1! The Yotes take home an ugly 2 points with Breezy stealing the game after the Yote’s PP grubs up a lead.

We didn’t draw first blood but by gum we drew next and last. All the scoring was done and over in the first period. The Blues refused to quit all game long (them boys don’t care how many points they are in back of this race, they came to play). Gotta admire their gumption as they shelled Breezy from every and any direction they could. The Bryz! shut down 15 of 16 sogs in the first period alone, giving his boys a chance to get it together.

One of the many Johnson’s scored the first goal of the night giving the Blues some much needed energy 1- 0 Blues but the Yotes got lucky with a 5 on 3. They answered quickly on the big boom of PP monster Jovo’s canon to tie it up. 1 - 1 game. With a minute still left in the following 5 on 4 the Mighty Finn tipped in Yandle’s shot to make it 2 - 1 Yotes. That would pretty much settle the series despite the Blues continuing to throw everything they had at the big Russian.

The second period got a bit ugly with penalties flying everywhere and players getting chippy and dirty in every collision. The Blues outshoot us again 14 - 8 but they were no match for Breezy’s force field. We miss fire on 3 PPs but our PK was workin overtime as the Blues got creative and desperate during the single penalty we accrued (TQ! dammitt watch your stick!) Bally and Jackman tussled a lot and ended up sitting together in the sinbin for roughin each other up.

The intensity ratched waaay up as both teams settled down to play puck rather than chuck nucks (only 1 penalty in the 3rd). We held our own in the third as far as sogs (11 - 12) but the Blue’s shots that were managing to get through to Breezy were quality and the big guy just stifled eveything. It helped that he could see everything incoming (the defense and forechecking kept the Blues pretty limited to the outside all night).

Michalek had another stunning night. I still think Yandle needs to watch a few games. Kapi is so very underrated (that kid works so very hard every game). DMo keeps scaring us to death with these close to the eye injuries. Donor had several chances but just couldn’t take the shots ( no more fighting Captain Clutch, we need that big shot of yours). Hossa looked real good including another post ringer and Jovo has been playing like hell on fire w/ hardly any blue line miscalculations to mar his offensive prowess. Go Carci go! awesome disciplined play by the resident wild child.

The lines were still funky but seemed to be a bit more stable with some defense and scoring balance on all 4 lines tonight. I hope TGO finds what he’s looking for soon. My heart can’t take it.

A great night. A beautiful win. Clinging to our place in the playoff hunt with a tenacity that has been missing in the desert for a long time. Thanks for the birthday win Yoties! Watched the game at K O’Donnell’s in Scottsdale w/ TQutie and Teal (sorry you missed us Time4) and thank you to all who wished me happy bday.

GO COYOTES!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

What is it about Patrick Lalime this season that we just cannot seem to solve? He just isn’t THAT good (even though he has some decent games, he implodes waay too often). But like most do or die situations, this game was a lucky-is-sometimes-better -than-good crapshoot. 1 - 0 Hawks was NOT the outcome I was looking for.

Both goalies were playin like Nero in Rome. But Breezy got caught on a very lucky skate deflection. It sucks to lose a game that way. Both teams didn’t look like much. The young Chicago snipers never even got on the board and actually got caught up in a couple of scraps. Our snipers were puttin up a fight but couldn’t get a damn thing to go in.

I sure wish Donor hadn’t fought Frankenhead in the Calgary game (I’d bet the farm, if I had one, that the hand is acting up again), our Captain hasn’t let fly any kind of shot at all since then. 3 or 4 weeks ago there was an article that listed our wounded and the big PM had a foot problem… is it worsening? Cause he is slow and ineffective lately. At least Vrbie is pickin up speed again after his ankle issues… just a matter of time b4 the streaky, sneaky lil Czech gets hot again.

Our newest Czech may not be the prettiest thing on the block and dull as drying paint in interviews but other than unfamiliarity he didn’t look too bad last night. He even rang a post in his debut. I have hopes for him once he gets acclimated. Why throw him into a game this important when he hadn’t even practiced w/ the team though? We sure love that trial by fire thing I guess.

Sweet baby Clarence! What is with this line juggling thing? I really, really, REALLY hate it. And I’m sure the players do too. Carcillo on any kind of starting line gives me hives. I mean seriously wtf?

So anyway… we can’t find any kind of energy? Maybe we need to stock up on the Rockstar or Monster drinks instead of Coyote Koolaide cuz if we can’t hype up when these kinds of games are on the line we truly will be running in 9th or 10th place the rest of the way. If we can only beat teams like the Blues or the Kings with any kind of authority we might as well sit back on the porch.

March is definitely the cruelest month with ANA(2),VAN(2), EDM(2), SJ(2), CGY & DAL(1) to fight our way through, not to mention the surging MON and the down but by no means out OTT, we better find our game quick. We need at least 3 wins for every loss at this point in time. That schedule makes it hard to view play off hopes with any kind of … well, hope.

May the Blues will oblige us with 2 more points and may Breezy continue to be a puzzle to ANA and DAL… and pray to the hockey goddess that we can skate on Oil this month. That may just be enough to slide sideways into the playoffs. Let’s start with the Blues tonight boys! Hit all the right notes and bring Mama a birthday win home from St. Louie.

Let’s Go Coyotes!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well we all knew it was coming. GMDM said he was standing pat unless something just about knocked his socks off. Well coming from New York city he musta brought a man crush on Montoya with him cause I see nothing else about this trade that accounts for doing it.

We gave NY our beloved Sjo our beleagured Lenny and threw in the lovable and feisty Bam Bam in return for lil Hoss and Monty (and depending on which site you read there’s a pick in there, going some way, conditionally).

I realize that as a 1st round pick (and one we moved up to get) more was expected of Fast Freddie and that it never really materialised but I was hoping we’d keep the boy for one more shot. But there’s a lot of talent coming up in the ranks and the lovable Swede was going to be in even more of a dog fight to stay out of the press box than ever before. I hope the change of scenery can do for Freddie, what dawg days in the desert could not. Good luck to you and godspeed, Weeble, you will be missed greatly.

Rather than lose Grats to that horrible re-entry waiver rule, he was allowed to languish down in the A. I only wish the Bammer’s hands were as soft as his head is hard. The kid gives his all each and every shift. Protector and big hearted lug that he is, we will all miss his courage and fire. With Avery already agitating the hell out of the east coast there really doesn’t seem to be a place for Josh on the NYR bench but the Rangers have obviously seen what happens to them when that moron is out of the lineup and decided to get a backup. Josh will most likely sit on the farm due to not having much else to contribute besides pugilistic talent. But who knows, he is still young maybe he can be taught to crease camp and earn some type of offensive distiguishment that way? Who the hell would try to get him out of a crease? Anyway… Good luck to you too Bammer and thanks for all the spark you provided for us.

Ah Lenny. At least you will be reunited with the goalie coach who understood how to get through to you. Underappreciated (your record when you managed to get a game wasn’t that bad) and badly managed (thrown to the freakin wolves in a series of ugly goalie dramas) you are still a guilty secret crush for me. I hope you fare well back there on the other coast. Fast glove and smooth lateral movement to you bucko.

So GMDM finally got his boy. Montoya has been brought into the Yotie fold. Creates a very interesting tandem down in the A. The next 2 years should be very interesting on our goalie front as Tordjy and Monty battle for top dog honors. With the Breezy/Telly combo working out so awesomely and Tell is signed for another year, looks like we finally have some good depth in the cupboard for flexibility. So welcome to the family Monty ( I hope you are half as good a GMDM thinks you could turn out to be).

Last but not least Lil Hoss. Forever in the shadows of the awesomeness that is Marian, this poor guy needed a break like nobody’s business. He got one in this change of scenery. Hopefully Marcel Hossa will jump right in and find his niche and hopefully a wee bit of a scoring touch. Not much to look at as far as offense this season, Marcel does possess a nice defensive edge so maybe we won’t feel the pinch of losing our defensive Swede so much. Come on in Marcel we got plenty of love for the underdog to go round.

Hot damn sam! Bryz! gave St.Louis a taste of the Russian blues. Back to form and seriously on guard duty, our big dawg shut the door, locked it and threw away the key in this game. 35 sogs, playing without a stick, playing snow angel and just plain playing out of his mind for the shutout win. Simply stunning performance.

Michalek! Joined the big Russian with another stellar job. I’m not just talking about THE GOAl. The kid played a fantastic game all night. Keeping pucks in at the blue, giving great outlet passes and pinching, cycling and blocking 6 shots (one that hurt so bad I felt it from my seat). Probably his best game all year.

York… yeah I said York. Had a fantastic game as well. I have never seen that boy move so well. Beating Blues to pucks (actually outraced a couple of them). Had a hit or 2 and actually stole some pucks! I think he surprised himslef as much as he surprised me. If he played like this all year we wouldn’t be doggin him so much. I don’t expect it to last but it sure was a big factor in this win.

Rhino! Once again stepping up and being a major player with assists on both goals. Gaining us some puck possession time with key face off wins (58% on the dots) and proving his worth in more than veteran leadership.

Can Weller get his identity back? The kid seems lost right now. After his bout with OKT the gritty forward seems to have forgotten that he and Dwin are a HUGE set of bodies that are a very hard tandem to knock around. Maybe his lil stint in the press box will remind him? If in doubt Wellie, stand in front of their goalie. Thats always a good place to be and you could find a great identity as the garbage man. Everyone loves the garbage man in hockey.

I think the team has found a way to contain the wild child. Everytime there looked to be a scrum in the corner or behind the net, containing Carcillo, the team jumped in and packed up tight, preventing blows from being thrown. About 3 or 4 times I saw this strategy come into play, kept Carcillo from getting singled out thats for sure. I liked what I saw no stupid penalties even though Yandle and Boynton got a whole lotta ‘extra’ fists and elbows for their simple interference/roughing penalties in the first period (looked like WWF raw out there for a minute).

Hanzal is holding up more than well since his return. That kid plays a huge defensive game and can transition so smoothly he can bring a tear to the eye. Just gotta love the big lug. And that Joel Perrault keeps surprising us with insurance goals and decent play. Starting to really like this kid alot.

Thank you TGO for putting the line combos back together. When Bryz! is workin his magic it only takes a single goal to get the job done, so don’t juggle anymore please. It hurts when you juggle. Even though the PP didn’t net anything it was really exciting to see the patience and confidence the boys were exhibiting out there. No wasted shots and some quality chances generated. Gives me hope that future PPs could steal us some points down the road.

Poor Blues, not a very good road trip for them with 4 losses. We get to play them again on Thursday. Now that Bryzzie has finally figured out the right notes to hit I am looking forward to that road game as well. It’s Onyx’s birthday on Thursday boys and she’d really like 2 regualtion points for her prezzie.

We meet up in ChiTown tomorrow. They’ve done a little shifting, lets take advantage and give them a couple of swats. Its time to go into a winning frenzy buckos. Have fun out there and bring us home 4 road points!

Let’s Go Coyotes!

~photos from BTinAZ~ when she gets back home from her trip

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Epic battle begins today.The Blues have been no slouch lately. Despite sliding a bit behind us in the race for 8th, the Blues are holding steady… pacing themselves right behind us at a respectable 66 points and #12 position.Although we are 7 of 8 against these guys this season (including preseason) don’t make the mistake of thinking this will be an easy 2 points. Boyes, Kariya and AndyMac are racking up points and Legace (although shaky in his last outing and having his traditional Coyote woes) is no slouch between the pipes. The Blues are getting some interesting secondary scoring from Perron, Walker, Stempniak and Jackman. They have lost the last 2 contest on this road trip to the Ducks and Kings and much like us, seem to do well against the big opponents and squeak a point or lose to the teams they should beat with authority.

Wake up snipers! Its time to put the hard hats on and take care of business from here on out. This is the stretch guys…in case you didn’t notice. Men become boys or learn to play golf w/ the old men early. So put away the PS3s and get your tookis’ in gear my babies. It’s clobberin time! Shell early, shell often and let’s get our eyes back on the prize please.Go Dawgs! Go get us 2 points!onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com
 

The forecheck was back, shaky and inconsistent but it made some key appearances. Both goalies made tremendous and valiant efforts all night long. A 12 man shoot out has to be the most stunning and grueling game a goalie can face. It was a spectacular end to this game. Unfortunately it shouldn’t have come to that kind of an ending.

My personal opinion is that TGO made his first faux pas in what has been a sterling coaching effort this season. Gettin our big Czech back should have amounted to no more than a few adjustments in TOI for a few players. Instead WG juggled. Kinda like zigging when you shoulda zag and getting hit by a bus.

Kapanen (you already know I love the Mighty Finn) should NEVER have been place between Donor and Mueller. Just ughh. Like asking a dachsund to keep up with racing boishoi’s. He looked out of place and they looked lost. The line produced bupkis. Most of the other lines looked like regurgitated borscht too. WHY? Weller, Hanzal and York? just ewwww. Wellie barely had 3+ minutes in this game, is the press box calling his name next? Dwin, Hanzal and…TQ? York, Weller and Perrault? what the hell are these combinations supposed to be doin? Oh wait… must be losing, cuz thats what they did.

We turned it over, we fumbled it, we lost our advantage in getting Hanzal back. We did actually get a PP goal from the Rhino Vrbata Doan line at the 10 minute mark of the 1st but we bumbled 4 minutes later and let the newly returned Stasny score on an ugly rush (how does he come in without bein molested and grab his own rebound and score w/ 3 Yote dmen right there?). 1 -1 game for the rest of the first and well into the second. Zbynek! woo hoo! gettin a few shots off with authority(nice to see the team use Z at point instead of constantly goin to Jovo) … what the hell was Laperriere talkin to my baby boy about? I don’t like him after the game he tried to beat on the boy but it didn’t look ugly so I’m just wondering what was said. Leave my boy alone Ian, you really don’t want me to show you my angry face!

What is it about the 10 minute mark? The Avs find their way past Telly on the stick of the very hot Svatos to make it 2 - 1 and despite some fairly good battles it stays that way until the third. Our line changes sucked mightily.

The third period we saw some familiar faces playing together again and we looked better! ahem… resting my case on that. The battle heated up significantly and both teams look great. The Yotes finally get some sense of desperation and in the last 2 minutes we dominate the Avs and DMo saves our bacon and grabs us a point at 19:57! We’re going to OT 

The OT was ugly, our line change nightmares continue. We end up shorthanded at the 4 minute mark for too many men on the ice. We barely manage to pull this off. We’re goin to the SO… Telly hasn’t had one in awhile but he is a feisty one in these suckers.

A 12 man shootout! who woulda thought Theodore could last that long? We saw award winning tending for the whole thing. We saw shooters who are stellar made to look like snot and shooters who have rarely even thought about a shooting move get a chance. Perks finally nails one, York actually grabs one too. But 3 unlikelies from the Avs score too, Arnason, Liles and Mcleod all find their way past Telly and the Avs avoid the sweep and gain 9th position over us.

sigghhhh *one last ref bitch…when are these guys gonna take look at calling picks at the blue? After the Flames got away with so many of them I been lookin for it… and damned if it doesn’t happen a LOT*

So we just made the hole a wee bit deeper and the fight a wee bit more desperate. We gotta get our poop in a group against the Blues on Sunday. We need the points more than I can say. We may see Telly again since Breezy has been sick and Telly has been playing phenominally.

Lets Go Coyotes!!!

!photos from BTinAZ~ when link is ready.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well at least for this I can be positive maybe even upbeat.

So far we have the team from Colorado on the rocks. 3 times we have managed to take the 2 points and run. But Friday night will be a test. Smyttie, Small Paul and maybe even Joltin Joe may be back in the line ups for the AVs. The team has managed to hang tough despite having Smyth, Sakic and Stasny out of the line up at the same time. Key games from stalwart secondary players has kept them in the hunt. The middle of February has not been kind to the Avs (they are on a nasty 5 game slide). Look for the renewed vigor that having Stas back will bring and if Sakic decides he’s ready it will be a real dogfight.

Both teams are very evenly matched. Sitting 9th and 10th in the conference and 4th in their respective divisions. While the Avs struggle on the road the Yotes are struggling about the same at home so no clear advantage for either team in this tilt. GF% are Yotes=17th and AVs=18th but the Yotes have a slight advantage w/ better %’s in GA, PP and PK numbers.

Vbrat and Rhino (both former AVs) have led the battle in the previous outings and hopefully the Avalanche won’t be able to contain da Brat again in this joust. Talk about former players coming back to bite you in the keister! DMo was also an AV and has been plenty destructive to their top line. Vbrat has five goals, an assist and a shootout point in our 3 wins AND even scored in overtime during the last contest. While Rhino has 4 goals and 2 assists on the series so far including a hattie night.

We are about 5-for-14 on the power play against these guys and that may very well be the difference in this game. This is the last contest between the two for 07-08 and in order NOT to jinx us I will simply say… there is a possibility that brooms may be needed after this game, which has not been done since the 90-91 season, when both teams were still Canadian based.

Do I really need to say this? Discipline! Special teams! FORECHECKING!!!  C’mon we all know the drill… no forecheck = no win! Major shelling no matter which widget they stick in goal! Scoring committe, wake up, stretch, sniff the ammonia tubes repeatedly if neccessary, but be ready to go from the giddyup! Both of our goalies have had good success against these guys and they are really going to have to bear down to keep these guys contained… can you say rebound control Yotie fans? I hope our net minders can not only say it but DO it.

With Parker, McLeod, Hanan and Laperriere on the ice (all pretty good at pissin ya off and all will chuck the nucks) DC AND Boynk are going to have to stay cool and save the passion for puttin pucks on net…. well unless severely provoked… and look for that to happen for sure. These guys are going to be desperate, we need to want this game really badly in order to take another 2 from them. So let’s go out there and send them home empty handed… we can even let them keep the brooms if they like.

LET’S GO COYOTES!!!!

See all you faithful at the Job… PS… Hanzal if back in the line up! The BigKids line has had the Mighty Finn in the middle and has been holding their own… thanx to Kapi’s opportunistic lil heart and Dwin’s unrelenting play at wing. So look for TGO to have more flexibility and craftiness in the rotations.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

When I can follow my sainted mother’s advice (Keep your yap shut if you can’t find a damn thing nice to say) I will finish this one… right now it is too full of vitriol and ichor to post for public consumption……. and of course I would never deprive you of BTinAZ’s pics… so it will go up… soon

ok back…

This game blew chunks in so many ways I cannot begin to describe. When your captain drops the gloves less than 2 minutes into the game the least you can do is respond. We did not in anyway take his lead and get some life. We were flat and disorganized and played like bush leaguers.

The Flames not only out played us, they ran rings around us all night. The players who had been leading the charge all disappeared. Every, single, one of them. Dwin and Carcillo were the only 2 players who continued to battle all night. That is  unacceptable. Getting beat is one thing… rolling over and playing dead is another and although we haven’t seen much of it this season… we can’t keep doing this.

Carcillo is definitely on a (s)hit list. Not only with other team’s players (such an easy PP draw for them since he’s almost certain to respond w/ force to any and all provocation) but also on the ref’s part too. Daniel was pummelled, elbowed and sat on through out the night and never recieved a single call no matter how blatant the infraction( oh yeah Nolan and Kipper I AM talkin about both of your shameless antics).

The cap of the crappy night was the disallowed goal. The NHL should take a good look at that call and tell that asshat not to have any more opinions, just call what he sees not what he wants to see or whatever the hell that was all about.

We did not need any help to blow that game, we were doin THAT just fine on our own with our crappy play. We need to sit down and figure out how to keep the game simpler at home. How to bring some of that road warrior mentality into our own building.

The season is called a marathon for a reason… for 60 games its a long distance endurance run and the last 20+ games its a sprint. We are in that last leg and cannot seem to find a consistant kick. I hope we can do so soon. If we don’t well… plan A goes back into affect.

You guys do remember plan A right? Slow rebuild w/ youth and gain experience over the next several seasons until all the pieces are in place for a true Stanley Cup run? Oh yeah THAT plan A! We are actually in plan X mode right now folks (how can you plan for what is happening w/ the Yotes this season? hope yes, plan…umm not even close) … our youth have exceeded expectations and our vets and xtra bit players have performed beyond the norm and so we find ourselves waaaay ahead of the curve here in this strange 07-08 season. So don’t lose sight of the main objective (which appears to be building something of a dynastic team lol) to contend for the Stanley Cup now and for many years into the future.

We are young and have many, many trials and tribulations ahead of us. I refuse to let this horrid game cause doubt. If NHL hockey was easy, every one would play and the Stanley Cup would spend some even more interesting days and nights in places it has no business being seen.

Placing this game firmly and deeply into the shadow box of lessons learned will be good for this team as long as the lesson sticks with the team for future use.

~photos from BTinAZ~

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleedintealinaz/sets/72157603956458390/

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

We have to be true to who we are tonight.

Identity: hardest working team in the NHL - every single night, every single shift, every single player *every single member of the organization*
Hallmarks: the relentless forecheck, scoring by committee, there is no star except the team, belief that they CAN win
Expectations: better every month, building day by day to a common goal, living a winning culture
Goal: the Stanley Cup… period, not the playoffs, not the finals, The CUP

This is the game where expectations collide with reality. Yeah, we have several turning point games but we had some really good luck helping us defray the disappointing outcome of several big games.

We’re getting to crunch time, 7th place is sitting there, waiting for us to claim it with authority. WHEN we win this game we will have taken that last step towards accepting that we are a contender. Like Riddick, we keep what we kill. And if we can grab that play off rung we’re keepin it dammitt no matter whose body we have to step over to do it! (you hear me Stars, Sharks and Ducks!)

The expectations were lower than a snake belly when the season began. GMDM tried to temper the rebuild w/ hope. The promise of a hardworking, entertaining, progressing on-ice product has been kept. Only suddenly the expectations and the reality don’t mesh and in a VERY good way. Wayne has said it, Donor has said it… the GOAL is the cup. If you aren’t here to try to win it, stay the hell home. Expectations change, the steps to the goal change. The goal itself remains static until you achieve it. I have been accused of not only drinkin the Coyote Koolaide but possibly bathing in it. Which cracks me up cuz… well its probably true. I have bought into the belief with all my fannish heart. That THIS team could win the Stanley Cup. *IF Lady Luck doesn’t desert Wayne and IF the Dawgs stay true to themselves* I’m a believer not stupid. The odds are against us if we draw the Ded in the first round but nearly everyone else its definitely an any given day type dawg fight that we COULD win.

So … are we proud of how far we’ve come? Hell yeah. Are we satisfied? Hell to the NOT! So tonight we gear up to battle the team that we gave away a game to. Lost a 3 goal lead to. That we basically choked on. A team we have beaten before with a nice decisive 3 - 1 final. We have GOT to play all 60 minutes of this one like our lives depend on it. Because really… they do. We cannot keep depending on other teams winning to keep us in this hunt.

We absolutely have to contain their shooters (there’s a reason they are 10th in the NHL GF%). Dion Phaneuf needs to be hit… early often and mean… he doesn’t like it and will retaliate. I guess DC will have his work cut out for him tonight unless Wellie draws that short straw. Getting Frankenhead off his game will make life much easier on our snipers. Iggy… no space, no time, just say no to Jarome coming anywhere near Breezy unmolested. If he manages to get enough room to take a deep breath he WILL score. Alex Tanguay always sneaky, always dangerous, rarely stable…watch that boy! he has the potential to be our kryptonite on any given day. Beware former Yotes, Lanky and Hussey and OhNo are not our friends… they are trying to usurp our place.

On our end… shoot early, shoot often, shoot ugly angles, shoot like you get a point for every sog. AND of course the FORECHECK! without it we are dead meat. We absolutley have to have pressure through the neutral zone and give the boys on the blue a chance to hold steady at the top of the zone, turnovers will be a critical part of the game plan. Donor and Mules were quiet last 2 games and Vbrat/Jovo stepped up, this game will have to have a little somethin somethin from all the shooters. And of course Breezy will have to be dead on from jump street or we will be dead  b4 we even get out of the gate.

So let’s go show the world we deserve that 7th spot!

Let’s Go Coyotes!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

I am sick and was seriously considering just postin both games as one entry or just posting the score on this one and let it tell the story but that would be unfair to both sides.

The Kings were outgunned and outplayed all game *even though they outhit us 29 -13 and outshot us in the 3rd 17 - 5*… If we hadn’t needed these 2 points so badly I woulda felt sorry for them (we’ve been in their skates ourselves, a lot) but then again no one ever felt sorry for us…just made fun of us (and some still do…much to their own peril). Tellqvist was in net, giving Breezy a chance to get centered and rested for tomorrow’s battle and no Boyle for the Kings *still can’t figure out what they are thinkin sending that kid back to the minors*

We open the first with a brilliant salvo from Jovo on the PP. Really nice slap shot that gets by Barbie even though he gets a piece of it. Jovonavski scorzes! 1 - 0 Yotes.

Not even 5 minutes into the period we up the ante with a beautiful, should-be-patented Vbrat forehand, backhand maneuver, after stealing the puck and outracing 3 Kings. Vrbata scorzes! 2 - 0 Yotes.

It wasn’t very chippy and there wasn’t much puck possession time for the Kings but it was a fast paced period. We go 11 - 8 sogs and Telly was brilliant on the line.

The second period almost seemed like it was going to be a repeat of the first as the Yotes came out blasting. Carcillo had a freak-tastic toe drag move that completely left the Kings open and vulnerable. Carcillo scorzes! 3 - 0 Yotes. We get sloppy… lay back a little as usual (we really have to turn up our killer instinct if we wanna succeed in the post season). Dwin gets us back on track with his goal on (for me anyway) the best TEAM effort in passing and communication of the night. Winnick scorzes! 4 - 0 Yotes. The Kings are now frustrated and pissed and it shows. Things get a little more chippy as Ivo the terrible starts bangin bodies in every direction. We get a bit undisciplined, taking 2 penalties, including one that just looks like Danny trying to stir things up… not too bad… just Danny bein Danny as WG likes to say.

Well the third was a different kettle of fish. The Kings have pretty much decided that they are NOT going to get shutout in their own house after having such a great streak b4 we foiled their crawl up from the cellar. It gets nasty, it gets chirpy, it gets ugly as Ivanans boards Carcillo pretty deliberately. And finally Carci and Ivo take a run at each other. Carcillo bloodies Ivo’s nose but clearly the extra reach and weight of Ivanans carries the fight. Ivo gets the boarding call as well as the 5 minutes for obliging Danny.

More penalties rain down throughout the period including some 10 minute misconducts (Armstrong and Carcillo). People are already calling the Carcillo hattie - a goal, a fight and a misconduct. The Kings are never able to establish a rythmn or even any kind of real momentum despite valiant efforts from Frolov, Cammi and Brown.

The white flag goes up and the Swedish Wolf has his second shutout of the season with 34 saves . YAY! Telly! He played a magnificent game. Saved our bacon a few times when we got sloppy(including a sideways crab scramble to the side of the net and some help from Z to keep his goose egg intact). 4 - 0 Yotes final.

We are in a 3 way tie for 7th place. TGO grabs his 100th win!

 Both CAL and VAN have only played 59 games, while we have 60. But both teams have OT losses nearly double ours. So if we can douse the Flames tomorrow on home ice we can take undisputed possession of that 7th spot!

Let’s Go Coyotes! We can do it!

If you can make it out to the Job please do… the boys could really use a spirited crowd when they face Iggy and the most likely highly peeved Flames (the Flames lost to the Kings 6 - 3 in their last game… they will be out for blood).

~photos from AP & Getty Photos/Danny Moloshok/Juan Ocampo and Harry How ~