We’re statistcally close…Divisionally we rank 3 and 4 (who woulda thought we could hold on to 3rd in the Pcacific?) Conference wise we’re 7th and 11th (again, who woulda thunk it? holding onto 7th for more than a game or 2) their superior numbers on the Pk will not be an advantage…as we have no PP to speak of anyway. Last 10 games played for both teams is a tie at 4-3-3… this might be another goalie war.

We missed sweepin these guys last season by 1 game. Erik Ersberg sure made the last games of 07 tough, but he’s out DTD and we will probably get to see just how quick Jonathan Quick is in goal for the Royals (LA Barbie has not been havin a whole lotta success recently and is riding the pine behind the called up Quick). Our lil speed demon Lisin was the star of the only game we’ve played against the Purple Puck Pushers in 08. (I’m sure everyone members that full stride breakout on a DMo pass but just in case… you can watch it again here. ) So we need to continue to own these guys. With ANA quiet tonight we have the chance to pull even with them and with their next game being against the quietly improving Stars we could stay ahead if we pull off the Ws in this back-to-back series. (ANA 39 pts – PHX 37 pts). This is a do NOT waste situation that will be invaluable down the stretch. And look to COL as the last game of December (with Stasny out with arm fracture makes the Yeti very vulnerable right now)to be THE big finish for the boys.

Damn thats a lot riding on 3 games. But with 2 of them at home where we have been thriving lately, it certainly looks doable. So I am going to stop looking ahead and focus all my limited powers of concentration on winning tonight and let Saturday and Wednesday take care of themselves as they arrive.

Watch the game on or on AZ- TV locally

As Always

!!!!LET’S GO COYOTES!!!!

HTH, Teal and I would like to take this time to say thank you to all our guests. To all of our hockey family and friends we hope you have a safe and sane holiday season. We wish you fun, love and prosperity in the season of giving. Whatever your belief system, where ever you are… Happy Holiday!

I would invite you all over to share in the Casa de Onyx celebrations but I’m sure you are having something a wee bit tastier than

To get the laughter part started

happy holidays

See you on the GDT tomorrow!

Fedoruk – Please Santa, get the Fridge his front teeth… and some side ones too… or at least a reminder device to tell him to take them with him for interviews?

Boedker -Boedy could use some ProActive solution. I hate to be mean… but the NHL has not been good to that gorgeous lil rookie’s complexion (srsly he’s got everything else hockey-wise)

Mueller – Muels apparently could use a new hip flexor and a lucky charm to take the sophmore jinx off his back

Turris – to “REALLY” weigh 180! my friend Virg says he should get one of those shirts with the fake musles built in. or a McDs gift card so he can haz cheese burger everyday…

Jokinen – Joker could sure use some Rogaine for eyebrows

Bryzgalov – Breezy needs a home hot dog cart (I’ve never seen anyone who actually LIKED hot dogs as much)

Lisin – a sweet lil red race car bed, so he can go fast, even when he sleeps. vrrooom vrrrooommm snore snore snore

Yandle – a professional photo session, so he and his family can have 1 non mug-shot photo,(with a barber on standby to shave him between takes)… that 5 oclock shadow thingy is a 5 minute shadow on him

Hanzal – a ritual burning of ALL copies of Zoolander so he can stop hearing how hot he is right now (even though he is)

Doan – sheesh what do u get the captain who has everything? 3 hats… in lieu of the real thing, since I can’t seem to will him an NHL hat trick (and neither can he apparently)

Jovanovski – JoVo gets a better tryke, one where all the wheels work? or a longer bus? or maybe we upgrade him to a big wheel… a big boy ride! since he has decided to be more Jovocop than Special Ed lately and both Santa and I appreciate that

Tikhnov – Teeks needs a Russian accent (cuz the Nor-Cal one sure confuses the hell out of interviewers) add the banishment of the words dude and awesome from his conciousness

Michalek – Z could sure use an auto block for his puck-over-glass moments and some seriously kevlared shin pads since he seems determined to go full-metal-kamikaze in front of every puck this season

Morris – DMo gets a new contract, early…please Santa, convince Mo Cheeks to re-sign (ok this was really a gift for me but hey…its MY list)

Porter – Puddin gets a line mate who understands his mental signals to go to the front of the net (or for Kolarick to make the team and show the other kids how it works)

Tellqvist – Telly sure could use a few less breaks between starts, the Swedish Wolf deserves better than 10 – 15 a year anyway

Carcillo – Wild Thang gets a muzzle or a taser button on his balls (TGO can press it to shut him up when needed) although the ability to grow a REAL mustache would also be nice, so DC can stop looking like a 12 year old trying to look like Erroll Flynn playing a porn star 

Winnik – The Beast could use some skate brakes so he can actually stop n shoot in the opposing crease and save his career (aka get out of Gretzky’s doghouse)

Reinprecht – Rhino could use some R.E.S.P.E.C.T. the guy should NOT be on another trade-him list for 2008, he just gets no love and he should

Lindstrom – Lucky Lindy needs 2 of the kids on permanent status for linemates, Lindy Hop could really throw down if he had some stability

Hale – OhHell needs a modicum of defensive wisdom… he can hit and pass a little but deciding when to do what could use a little boost

Sauer – Sig needs a goal, a pretteh, puck handling, honest to goodness goal scorers GWG (he does nearly everything else so well, this would really be a gift)

Klee – Ksquared needs a stronger constitution so he won’t have to rest so often which opens the door for Hale storms

Thanks Odie, Virg and Teal for the input, hopefully Santa reads this blog… or maybe not since I would prolly end up on the naughty list for some of them

!!!!MERRY CHRISTMAS to those who celebrate it and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all!!!!

xposted to HLOG

How do we go from like 40 hits in one game to like 17 hits the next? We only hit teams that can’t/won’t hit back? The hits were about even (17 apiece) but it sure seemed like theirs were nastier and more frequent.

We finally get over the 50% mark on faceoffs (you go Hanzal,cuz no one else certainly did) but our puck possession still sucked lemons. Does anyone else want to yell DECLINE IT! for the love of hockey DECLINE IT! when ever our PP takes the ice? (another you go boi! to Hanzal for not making us endure a PP attempt) Doesn’t it seem like we can only score on the delayed call this year?

Its a damn good thing no one else cept the Quacks were playin or this coulda REALLY hurt. We’ve got a chance tomorrow to make up for this

The first 10 minutes we looked like a pack of ungainly puppies trying to find our way out of a basket. Not a good look for us. Telly looked like a rusted statue of a goalie but came alive fairly quickly.The 5 on 3’s at the end pretty much put the kabosh on him trying to hold us in the game. Yes the refs sucked but we certainly didn’t help ourselves with our undisciplined actions. Predicting that DC will feel a wee bit of tightening on the leash(maybe a view from the press box?) for his mini-meltdown. Even though he fired up the boys by taking on the very large (6′4″ 225lbs) Jason Strudwick, the entire effect was marred by his jaws flappin like a fat ladie’s drawers in a windstorm. STFU Danny…srsly… I thought you had gotten over this tendency.

The Oil made us pay dearly for the youthful mistakes of Enver Lisin at the start of the first. 2 PPs…2 goals and we’re fighting for our lives. The great part was that we didn’t lay down and whine, we actually took the game to them and dominated the second period. It is soo very weird to actually still expect to win after being down by 2. Srsly… after Hanzal scored and Telly and the defense tightened up, I had expectations of pulling off (if not a win) at least a point and ending our Edmonton misery.When Winnie pulled off that move and Lisin scored, I was SURE we’d come all the way back.

The third period both teams were fighting each other to a standstill and we might have survived (1)5 on 3… but 2 of them? No way in hell. Especially with that insane shot of Souray’s waiting to end his drought. (If Z had jumped in front of one of those zingers I’da had to take him out back and explained the difference between team sacrifice and complete and utter stupidity/death wish). Seriously starting to hate Dwayne Roloson, he is a Coyotes killer of the worst order.

So we come out of Edmonton once again empty handed. Head into Colorado to play in the oxygen deprivation tank of the Yeti. An Avs win is another one of those ‘who-do-we-have-to-kill for the W games’. Sitting at 33 points and looking to climb back in the hunt for a berth, these guys need to be shoved back so they don’t get too close… we end the month of December against them and every loss against us helps next time we face them.

As always… Let’s Go Coyotes!

Whodathunkit?

Lil Kyle Turris had the game of his life on Thursday night. Handing us 8th place with the help of his trusty Russian sidekicks Bryzzie and Lisin. Don’t be hatin, a few more games like that and KT will have proven TGO right. No one else could solve the very hot Dan Ellis (who is playing extremely well right now and is a big factor in Nashville hanging around in contention). The Preds have been habitually low scorers this season and KTs timely goals were just enough.

It seems like the rest of December is MUST WIN games… 4 pointers or some wanna be team tryin to creep past us so any loss (w/out a point) would truly impact us.

Thank goodness Bryzzie matched Ellis for intensity and played solid if not brilliant in this one. Enver Lisin just keeps gettin better and better. The lil Russian Rocket flat out makes things happen out on the ice, each and every shift he seems to break things open on some level. His linemates are starting to recognise it very well. The break away on the first goal was beautiful (thanks to Lucky Lindy for recognising Ellis’ weak spot and spreading the word to KT and to the REAL Jovocop for the pokecheck) but the second goal was one of those ugly ones and with out Lisin popping Ellis like a taser, this opportunity doesn’t happen.

Funny how one of the league’s bad boys shied away from any extracurricular activity w/ the Wild Thang (apparently Danny did everything but triple dog dare Jordin Tootoo to go. After the 6th invite… a ref stepped in and made Carci back off with the threat of a 10 min) too bad we’ll never see a game w/ DC mic’d up…

So we send the Preds home and hop into the 8th spot like we own it. We timeshare well but with the Wild’s current foundering I feel like we own 7th all by ourselves. So we stay home, rest up, hang out and prep for what could very well be the game of the season so far…bring on the Bluejackets!

Can I say whodathunkit again?

I mean, srsly…The Coyotes in 7th place… all alone… no timesharing? Sound like peyote dreams? Well think again… 2 – 0 SHUTOUT! 4 game series SWEEP!

Bryzgalov was so solid, so hot and so in the moment that the Jackets had nowhere to go. With a stunning set of defensive corpsmen in front of him, there didn’t seem to be anything SuperBryz couldn’t do… including shutting the closet door on those poor, tired looking Blue Jackets. This was a major milestone for us. playing a game that had so much meaning (7th place in standings, pushing a close competitor down the standings ladder and closing the mouths of all who drag out that nasty Nash goal to taunt us with every game against these guys). “A shutout is like a dessert,” said Bryzgalov, who has allowed only three goals in his last three games. “Most important is we are in a playoff race right now and Columbus was two points behind us. It doesn’t matter if we win 2-0 or 6-5, it’s a huge two points for us.”

A series sweep over the Bluejackets by a ragtag group of kids, an ailing #1 goalie and a coach that many have been begging to step down. Oh yeah the motley crew stepped up and swept the Jackets with a cagey mix of old shooters and new shooters with Rhino drawing first blood and Boeds puttin the insurance goal to bed.

Mules to Ksquared to Doaner rocked Mason just enough for that tough ol dog Rhino, who tucked the rebound past Mason to give us the lead and what would eventually be the GWG.

That Lucky Lindy seems to be makin things happen ever since he got here. “(Lindstrom) made a good play taking the guy on the wall a little bit and the puck bounced to me, ” said Boedker, who has 16 points in 33 games in his rookie season.

“It was supposed to be Enver (Lisin) on the ice, but he was getting his skate fixed so I took a chance and jumped on and was lucky the puck was right there.” May the force continue to be with us and hopefully Boedker can clump a few together after that beauty.

Can you say JOVOCOP!

Well I can…the monster cop was back and dishing out extreme stopping power all night long. One of those stand-em-ups nearly cost that Jacket his tailbone, (hittin the ice, bouncin, then sliding several feet is hell on the coccyx). Hello! the blueline was committing assault w/ intent to win, all night long. Sig Sauer

and the Iron Czech

had Breezy’s back and sides and any other angle the Jackets could dig up.

Oh look! Klee was makin York sammiches too w/ a lil Zebra on the side.

Even Enver ‘Feivel’ Lisin got his licks in.

Carcillo finally got a bout with Boll and to me there was no clear cut winner but some decent knucks were chucked in this one. One thing about DC is there is just no quit in the boy. Boll was tryin to tie him up w/ an equipment strip but DC was havin none of that… he kept battlin even as parts were fallin to the ice. Gotta love the Wild Thang.

This was one sweet game.

http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=483&gameType=2&page=Recap&season=20082009&service=page
Last 5 games

DATE RESULT
12/20/2008 CBJ 0 @ PHX 2

12/18/2008 NSH 1 @ PHX 2

12/16/2008 PHX 1 @ DAL 2 a point!

12/13/2008 DET 5 @ PHX 4 a point!

12/11/2008 MIN 1 @ PHX 3

Next up EDM oy! http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=260584&lid=sublink03&lpos=topRelated_nhl

Standings http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/standings/

Here ki ki kitty! That’s right Shea Weber and the fanged wonders are in town tonight. Talkin about fighting like cats n dogs! Both teams need these two points to remain in contention. Both teams have been hangin close, by the skin of their teeth.

The Preds have 33 points (15-12-3) is a really good record, especially for a team that is uber dependent on goaltending and has no power name leading the litter. Both Ellis and Rinne are holding this team in place with their performances and Weber has gotten hot on the blueline to give them some added claw power.

We’ve gotten at least a point out of the last 4 games and sit at 32 points. (14-13-4) is a damn good record for a team with a first time #1 gate keeper and a hodge podge blueline. The nicest thing about our offense is that on any given day 6 or more fairly consistent shooters can heat up and we have 3 possible canons that can get busy on the blue line.(of course with 1/2 of that number being grass green… there is also the possibility that no one will score) ughhh.

Apparently there is very little difference between cats n dawgs as we both sit 3rd in our respective divisions. The cats are 7th and the dogs are 9th in the west. PK% (Yotes 16th, Preds 17th) and GF % (preds 17th, Yotes 18th) are within a point of each other in the league. So what does it come down to?

Which team is hungrier? Which team’s netminder has the bigger cojones? Which team’s coaching staff has done the better prep job? Which team can find a way to snag the W at any cost. This is a game that we absolutely NEED to win in regulation. We are in direct competition for playoffs with these guys and it is absolutely vital to put them away w/out letting them grab a point and stay ahead of us. That point could mean the difference between a playoff berth and early golf again.

Please don’t let TooToo be stoopid enough to take a run at the rooks. I really don’t wanna see him die. Although a Carcillo on Tootoo beat down might take the team into win space like nothin else.

Beware the Pred blue… Webz is sittin on 25 points and a hefty +12. Lets nip that in the bud straight off the hop.

Gonna need some crafty offense… both Rinne and Ellis are soo hot right now… some menage a tois (sounds so much more fun than tic-tac-toe) hockey in front of the crease or maybe just some nasty Fridgie screening can get us into chalupa territory tonight.

Come on Bryz! its time to steal one tootsie. No early softie… just good solid stoppage. You can do it… nay! you NEED to do it. The boys have had your back for the last couple of games big time. Step up! OWN your net babe.

!!!LET’S GO COYOTES!!!

Predatorial Coverage

Odie’s Take

Official Preview

Thanx Qbert for the graphix

Thanx JC for some of the sweet stats

BIG SHOUT OUT TO PATIO 6

Watch the game

Hoo boy! Its gonna be a scorcher down in Texas tonight. The Stars have done a lil self chemo and rid themselves of the cancer in their locker room. With Avery gone and team mates bonding again, the Twinkles will be looking to get back to their classic winning ways. Injury riddled lineup makes them totally unpredictable. Wounded opponents are always more dangerous and the Stars will be no different.

We’re on a tear. Bryz is coming back to solid. Adding Lindy seems to have infused us with a lil more hop in our step. The Joker is healed and on the hunt for his playoff berth (and apparently has no problem dragging the team kicking and screaming into contention). Enver Lisin is DTD (we lose a bit of the wallop thru the neutral…hopefully Boeds will pick that up for us) but we called Porter back up to give us some other options.

Since the shaming in Chicago we seem to be pulling together. 3 wildly successful games in a row (a point out of the Wing game counts as successful people), indicates a turning point for the boys. We don’t want to just cling to an 8th place tie, we need to build off this and grab some points tonight and make the next 8 games our coming out statement to close out December. Every month we’ve gotten a little better, become a little more gelled, a little more confident and certainly increased our winning ways.

DAL sits in our usual spot in the cellar right now. At 5-5-0 in their last 10 and 26 points, we need to hit them hard before they are able to regroup. A flustered Marty Turco is our best friend (he really hates sittin in the crease waiting for something to happen, we need to play off his impatience again…make him move Dawgs). Their PK/PP AND GA are all amongst the lowest they’ve ever been  (28th). Their IR list reads like a full team roster but they still have the newbie Brunnstrum, our arch nemesis Riberio and Modano/Richardson can also bite ya even when you expect it. Even though newly acquired Brian Sutherby is listed DTD (remember that scrapper from ANA?) he can’t be overlooked.

Our numbers look pretty good, 6-3-1 on the last 10 games. Our GF/GA and PK% are firmly middle of the pack but our PP could still use a whooole lot of work… as could our lamentable face off inability (again I beseech TPTB…No Panic Yanic for specialty team coach, we’ll never become a puck possession team if we can’t gain friggin possession in the circles). Lindstrom and Jokinen have been hot, Mueller has found his legs, Boeds is due a clutch and Doaner always gets up to face Turco.

This is TOTALLY WINNABLE! We can do this!

!!!!GO COYOTES!!!!

AMAZING GAME… simply astonishing… c’mon you know it was.

I think I’m gonna call this game our declaration of independence game. First we finally beat the Wild then we come out against the Ded like our asses were on fire. We actually dominated the play in some spots, dictated the game in a lot of the minutes AND we came out of it with the first point against them in years! Oh yeah, good bye OWNAGE! Hello INDEPENDENCE! No one owns the Desert Dawgs anymore baby!

But as they say.. baby steps. We killed 5! power plays in which the Ded could have annihilated us. We scored on 2 of our own. (although I still wish we could decline the PP … that shortie by Frantzen was brutal).

There were several ‘key’ points in this game. Turning points… you know … the ones that absolutely make you sure you are gonna win……or lose.

(1)
Ouch! They scored in the opening minute… Zetterberg no less (with Dats and Homie)… ugh, we’re ded
Ouch! Penalty by Carcillo 5 minutes left in the 1st and we can’t answer Zets goal to save our life …. ugh, we’re ded

WHOA!! Lucky Lindstrom scores! 32ft wrister 27 secs left in period…1 – 1 hmmm…. maybe we’re NOT so ded

(2)
WHOA!! Doaner on the backhand 2 minutes into the second… 2 -1 ummm…we’re ahead? wth? maybe we’re bad ass… we’re up by one on the Wings!

Ouch! well just damn… I knew we were ded… Frantzen w/ the shortie… 2 – 2 why we can’t get a special dispensation to decline those PPs … sighhhh
Ouch! well shit… Klee penalty…we’re ded…Holmie tip in… 3 – 2 we’re sooo ded

(3)
Damn its been 10 minutes… can’t go thru them, can’t go around them, might as well kick their asses

OH WAIT!!!
WHOA!! Boedker? wrister? 3 – 3 game? Holy shitski!! We’re still in this puppy dammitt!!!
Rut roh! They’re turnin up the heat…time is running out…we’re sooo ded… oh wait… we could grab a point! HOLD ON BOYS! GRAB THAT POINT!
WHOA!!! WHOA!!! OMG!!! RHHHIIIINNNOOOO!!!! holy shit! did Rhino just put us up 4 – 3  with less than 5 minutes left to go? NO WAY! way!
We can hold them off! We can WIN this game! We can shut up the F’d up Wingnuts forever! OMG! Hold on guys! Hold on!….

o…. oh no… omybleeding eyes NO! (tar and feather crews line up outside the arena) (pillories are set up) (discussion on the merits of crucification vs draw and quarter spring up throught the fandom) Z … delay of game… PK w/out Z…we are soooo ded.

We lose the face off… damn we are so ded
Hanzal whips the puck 123ft at the suddenly empty net… he misses… we are sooo ded
Hanzal whips the puck 146 ft at the still empty net…. he pings a pipe… we are soo ded
DMo misses his clearing attempt, Zetterberg holds it in, to Hossa, to Franzen…..we are sooo ded… 4 – 4

Ohey! we get a point!!!… but we are still very unhappy cuz the opportunity of the season slipped thru our fingers, to beat the RedWings … in regulation… the rest of the game becomes moot … in the eyes of the world… we failed… again. And there needs to be a goat… someone to blame… just don’t do it here… you were warned.

Lets just say, it took the much vaunted Wings a 2 man advantage to tie this game and they couldn’t put us away in OT either…and it took a shoot out… to bring us down. Thats progress! THATS something to build on! Thats the team I love, the team I am sooo proud to be a fan of. Game by game we are finally getting better. Never a dull moment and always something new. Tied for 8th place!! 5 points ahead of where we were last season! You go boys!

GO YOTES!!!

time to go put Dallas out of their misery.

That’s right I’m sayin it right now… When I put up the Redwing recap/postmortem or whatev you want to call it…don’t bother to bash my boy. you will be met with an extremely hostile reaction…it will be graphically rude, mean and terminally Boneshequa.

Be back with that soon

NHL.com is wrong…dead wrong. There is nothing ugly about the play of Peter the Great nor Martin Bboy Hanzal. Whats ugly is the tendency of the press to pick on any team NOT in the old boys network. Peter had a slow start sure (extra muscle=skating and shooting adjustments and the early hip flexor didn’t exactly help either) but Pistol Pete is back on track (see the Stars and Wild games for confirmation). Marty has been shuttin down the likes of Joe Thorton and Ryan Getzlaf since last season. The kid has his defense down pat now and is polishing up his offensive skillz. I can’t wait for the final numbers so those asshats can eat their words.

But I digress…

The Ded come to town tonight. Its always ugly when they show up. Their fans infiltrate our arena and annoy everyone who has ears. There team is so loaded with talent that even the puck boy is a bad ass.

We got 2 wins in a row against arch nemisi (is there a plural for nemisis?) Our top net minder is returning to form, our scoring committee is on track, our blueline is actually getting help w/ containment and our forwards now seem to have a clue about pressure through the neutral.

STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!! these boys will hand you your ass each and every time. (our PK is on and poppin but c’mon! Datsyuk? Zetterbergh AND Hossa?) So don’t give them the opportunity.

HIT EVERYBODY NOT WEARING THE RIGHT RED!!! These are mostly skill guys (there are a few that can take a hit and not get off their game too much) but each player you can take out of the play means less sleight-of-hand for Dats and Zets. Then Bryzzie can focus on stoppin their first shots.

PP!!! PP!!! PP!!! once you got em pissed off enough to take some penalties, gotta put those babies in… no way we can take them apart without using every advantage we got.

SPEED KILLS!!! don’t stop and wait for a pass to hit you in the ass. Take a run at the neutral BODS… LIS…LINDY get the wheels goin here guys… not much anyone can do with gresed lightning.

If we manage to get a lead… don’t friggin play it safe. step on the gas cuz these bastages love to lull ya into a sense of security, right before they stick it to ya.

Expectations are a real bitch… we’re in surprise mode right now… lets surprise the hell out of the DED and break their strangle hold on us.

**good luck and godspeed to Brian Mack Daddy McGrattan who has voluntarily entered the substance abuse program…. thank goodness he has the gumption to get the help he needs***