Beware the highs….beware the lows…words to live by as a Coyotes, fan or player. Easier said than done right? But honestly, did you expect the youngest team in the league to come in and actually win this game? Jeeze and I thought I was the biggest abuser of Coyotes Koolaide ever… apparently there are fans elsewhere that imbibe more than even me. C’mon peeps, the Flames have owned us for oooh, around 11 straight games (since 2005) I think we won like 1 of those matchups. As C13 so succinctly put it… we have a long term contract to be the Flamer’s bitch and apparently that contract has not yet expired.
I would love to do a good, bad and ugly run at this baby but truly… it was ugly, putrid then fugly so I am not going to go there. We got a lil too high after sliding past a sleeping Ovechkin, and a big win high is much like any other hangover… it hurts the next day.
Just a few thoughts in the aftermath of the last few games…
Why is Mueller not moving his feet? Is there still a problem with the hip?
Why is Ollie Jokinen not the point man on the PP? Didn’t he sit around 2nd highest in PP points from that spot on the Panthers?
I know every fan in Coyotes Country wanted to see the BIG LINE…aka Doan, Jokinen, Mueller but honestly…its not working, soooo… how bout creating a lil chemistry by keeping at least 2/3s of the 1a and 1b lines together?
Bodz and Joker - (insert random wing here when the urge to shake thiings up gets too intense) add Carcillo/Lisin/Fridge as needed or until one of them clicks… Bodz and Joker seem to get each other just fine. Adding/rotating the other LWs can give extra speed (Lisin) or extra nasty (Fridge) or both (Carci)depending on who the opponent is.
Doan and Mules - (insert random wing here whenever the juggle bug cranks your tractor) add KT or Rhino or Porter as needed or until one of them clicks. We damn well know that Mules practically goes into overdrive when he plays a lot w/ Doaner, why not let that relationship develop further. Slip KT into this line occasionally so he can get the feel of making plays for players who could possibly “get” what he’s trying to set up.
Winni/Tiki/Handzi - LEAVE THIS LINE ALONE! or retire because fixing shit that ain’t broke is asinine and will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you need to be playin golf at a retirement home rather than being behind a bench. Winni is still competing for the nickname Beast (and starting to look like one with all that facial hair. Tiki is sooo close to that first NHL he can almost taste it. And Hanzal… well just damn the boy can sure center a shut down line.
4th line - (we have a 4th line?) oh yeah KT and the irregulars…when KT is stuck back here give him 1 babysitter not 2… talk about overkill and a waste of a learning experience… at least give the boy 1 wing who can actually play hockey.
NEVER! EVER! Play DHL on the PP… for the love of hockey… the guy is very nice… he tries really hard every shift… but why is a guy (handpicked guy even, the worst player on the team? There was a lot of defensive talent available during the offseason and we gambled on Hale) ummm guys? know when to hold ‘em… know when to fold ‘em. Can’t wait til Jlov get off the IR…not sayin he’s the savior of the blueline or anything but sheesh… gotta be better than this.
EDIT**** Yotes pick up Ken Klee off waivers… while not a definitive upgrade… if Klee can be a little more mistake free and keep Yandle on his current course… I will declare him a success… until Jlov comes back and knocks our collective socks off or something else drops into our laps via GMDM’s uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=389088
Despite the weird tire blow in this game…DMo is usually one of the most reliable defensemen in the game. Give him and that big slapper a lil more time on the PP. Especially right now while Jovo isn’t quite up to par. Apparently Jovo has transferred Doaner’s slow start to his side of the fence. He’ll be back… hopefully some time in the next couple of games. He’s shootin that big shot, but Theodore and Kipper really had some serious forcefields up. Its comin, I can feel another career high points, just waiting for the healthy Jovocop… and if we can get some more defense out of him too… well that would be a bonus.
Doan, Jokinen, Jovanovski, Morris, Reinprecht…Between them, they have enough experience and talent to make this team a real threat. Most of them are lagging on the Goal front. Take a look at the total goals for the team…its all about the kids. The veterans need to step up and make their presence felt. Hey guys! The kids don’t need their hands held, they just need their asses covered… their feet have gotten wet, they are doin better than you. Its time to start treating them like NHLers, pass to them, set them up, expect things from them like you would any other team mate. These kids are smart and talented… time to act like you know it too.
Intensity? Screw ‘matching‘ anybody’s intensity. Bring your OWN intensity to every game… as high a level as you can get to and maintain… every stinkin game! The minute your skates touch the ice, your intention should be to knock the hell out of your opponent each and every time they touch YOUR puck along the boards. YOUR PUCK! Every player should play like that lil rubber disk belongs to them and they should rain pain and destruction down on anyone trying to take it… hell on anyone even trying to get to it.
BIG PROPS! to Keith ‘my balls are so big they clank when I skate’ Yandle… yeah it hurt to say that… but the lil guy was everywhere. In Phaneuf’s face, shootin, corrallin loose pucks, name it and Yandle was tryin to do it. Yeah he had the one big brain fart in front of Telly but he actually dived out and knocked the puck away b4 any damage was done. You Go Boy! Best game Yandle has had so far.
So where was the rest of the team when Yandle got pushed into the goal posts in the third period? Vandemeer shoved Yandle to the ice after the whistle and when he got up it was to Phaneuf in his face talkin beaucoup merde. And did anyone on the team step up? ummm that would be a resounding NO! How do we not respond in his defense? How does TGO not send Doan, MacG, Fridge and every other Yote that can kick an ass out on the next shift Phaneuf/Vandemeer are on and send them a message of our own.
But despite the fact that our 5th Dman was in the top 3 players for our team and the fact that we got manhandled, outplayed and then we pretty much just quit… Telly showed a brilliancy that bodes well for when we get our shite together. Thats 2 games in which the Swedish Wolf came up big and gave us the chance to play. Big props to Telly too!
So our patience is required again for 2008… this time to give our youth a chance to get acclimated… and our vets to get their poop in a group. But we started better than we have in years, there’s more than a little promise hitting the ice in our uniforms this season and we’ll just have to hang on while everything gets to gellin. Its only 7 games, we’re sittin 1 below .500, our back up goalie is on fire, our kids are taking to the game like fish to water. We can do this… the pieces are there.
