Derek Morris has submitted a list of teams he’s willing to deal with. Its over… one of my all time favorite Coyotes will be leaving us soon. Don’t look for Dmo on the bench either, he’ll be sitting out til the trade goes down (its only fair that who ever gets him, gets a whole and healthy player).
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=269167&lid=sublink01&lpos=headlines_main
Vaya Con Dios Demolition man. We’ll miss you.
I’m gonna wait til after the game tomorrow to post mortem the Blues game. Actually there won’t be a lot to say unless we lose to the Preds. Then it could get ugly so stock up on flame retardant.
In the mean time… Cam Janssen is a total tool and was fined for being a repeat retard for his hit on Z. He shoulda been suspended too but it was only a Coyote player, no harm no foul.
I been sayin we should just freakin skip spring break aka the AllStar break, apparently I’m not alone in my tin foil theory about some kinda curse.
If you are totally bored outta yer minds you can also catch our wierd musings on Twitter
As always… Go Coyotes!
The month of February is certainly looking up. Of course its my birthday month too so I’m rather partial to it but also because things are looking up for the team as well. We’ve won 2 straight and are still in the playoff hunt. Just a week ago things looked really, really bleak for the boys. We were in a slump of craptastic proportions (a hole we basically dug for ourselves by losing multiple winnable games) and time was running out for fixing our ailments. Sweets was out, DMo and Rhino and Hanzal were non-skating wounded and it seemed like there was no end in sight. Adding fuel to the problem was all the hoopla about our financial situation (things are looking up there too as Moyes talks with serious investors and the city of Glendale does what they can to help)
But while 90+ points still seems like an impossible dream, the boys have grabbed their hard hats and begun the Herculean task of post season hunting. Decisive victories against the red hot Thrashers and the embattled but still rising Kings have given the boys some confidence it seems.
Olli Jokinen grabbed a hattie and appears to be back on track (if we are going to get this done, he’ll have to be this good and more, nearly every night). Tiki has 4 g/ 2 asst in 5 games. Unlikely sources are starting to contribute again (Hale, Sauer, Carcillo) and all we really need is continued stellar goal tending, discipline and an unselfish, committed scoring committee that plays hard for a solid 60 minutes every game. (yeah, thats all we need lol)
Tonight we take on the Blues. They are right behind us on the ladder to the post season. We need to take their 2 points and climb over the Kings and position ourselves to knock off the Preds on Thursday. Winning these 2 road games slips us right back into the 8-10 spot (depending on the results of the teams occupying those slots right now).
We’ve only faced these guys once this season and they barely squeaked by us (4 -3 Blues). It was the Backes, Boyes and Tkachuk show all the way with enough PIMs to choke a largemouth bass. Tonight’s game can’t be that way. We have won nine of 11 and 10 of the last 13 tilts with these guys.
Keys to this win:
I’m not beggin for a miracle here. This is definitely a team that we ‘can’ beat, its only a question of ‘will’ and that is the difference most games for us anyway. These guys have to truly want ALL the games, not just get up for the big teams. They need to play these middle-of-the-road-yet-standing-in-our-way teams just like they would SJS or DET. They need a killer instinct too, if we get up by 2 or 3 they need to make it 4 or 5, srsly, do not keep lettin 2 and 3 goal leads disappear into OTs and such.
Its crunch time! You’ve got a 2 win foundation, build on it. Remember, we need to win about 3 for every 4 played! Lets save the Ls for the rough games, hoard them away by gettin a lil W streak cushion goin.
News and Notes:
The Big Rig takes on fan questions for those still infatuated w/ Blake Wheeler
Myrtle’s Math for Playoff Hopefuls
Watch the game on AZ 7 or at http://atdhe.net/
As always … GO COYOTES!!!
Maaan… I guess this GDT thing is workin pretty well, even that lame one from Sat brought luck (and the return of Olli Jokinen… hopefully I won’t have to piss him off that much again to get me another hattie).
My son took me to the King’s game on Saturday for my birthday present. It was mahvelous dahling!
I got there a wee bit late (Phoenix time dontcha know is 1 hour off! damntheluck) but I listened on the way in to the arena. Color me surprised to hear the Haler had started off the scoring. (You go new daddy, apparently sleep deprivation can remake a guy) You gotta give DHL credit, after going scoreless for sooo long, he’s tryin to make up for lost time. The Frolov/Kopitar tandem tied it up when I got there but I didn’t care because it seems like we win when Halestorm scores.
The second period was crazy! The Royal’s Dustin Brown went ape and lit up Bryz in the first shift back on the ice. Tom Petty’s Breakdown went off in my head but the boys were’nt goin out like that and revved it up about 6 notches after Winnie went the distance with Kyle Quincey ( having seen DWin chuck ‘em with badder opponents, I have to wonder what took him so long to get started? Odd fight but it did the trick). Olli followed by Tiki followed by Olli… in less that 7 minutes we were up on those Purple Pukes 4 -2 . Weird penalty of the night… Z with a boarding call (huh? he was truned sideways when he went in to the guy but yeah he did put him into the boards. It’s just… Z? wow kid is gettin feisty)
So the 3rd period, the crowd is gettin used to me and the kidlet standing up and howling (apologies to the guy who begged us not to) we were holding up signage and razzin the 4 lil virgin Kingers next to me.
The boys have gotten a whiff of the kill and we got all the good bounces and apparently had spread the word about Quick’s failure to read glove side high. Boeds pulls the trigger less than 2 minutes in to give us the 3 goal lead.
Things got hairy for about 12 minutes as the Kings turned on the heat. They chased and clawed and did just about anything you can imagine to try to get something past Bryz. (Kings sogs 13 to our 5 in this final period) So when the King’s pulled their goalie, Olli gave me an early birthday gift of a sweet hattrick (c’mon you know he did it for me) 2 EV and 1 shortie/empty for Olli.
To give the Kings their due (despite Quick’s mini meltdown) they battled hard and finished out the night with a PP goal. Too little too late though and the scoreboard read Coyotes 6! Kings 3.
The PKers looked good, Bryzzie looked good, OLLI! looked good. We had net presence and patience and poise. Good day to be a Yotie in the land of LA LA as evidenced by the fact that we met up with Time4Hockey, Ali, #1NashFan, Heeter, Nash and Mossie during the intermissions.
IDK if we’re gonna make it or not but it looks like the boys have put their work boots back on and are in playoffs or bust mode. Now if our road trip (STL/NSH) can be as good as this first away game we got a chance. Keep yer digits crossed!
News and Notes….
Check out Jeff Dahlia’s Prospect View from Hockey’s Future
Renney is gone… well hell, wonder where that leaves us in the Prucha hunt?
The Coyotes Pack grew by 1 last week, when DHL’s wife delivered a sweet 8lb baby girl named Nora. Congratulations Halestorm!
If you are bored, there are a few pics up but mostly of the family enjoying the game.
As always… GO COYOTES!!
Hoo boy! I am in LA (well really close to the city at the girl child’s house), her interwebz suck so this may be a lil rocky. But I gotta do it since we won after I did the last one.
LAK are ahead of us in the standings. Damn how’d that happen? LOL We need to put the Queens back in their place, under us in the standings!
This has to be really short n sweet cuz the kidlet’s interwebs suck to the max. Barely even have a connection.
Same damn thing as last game only don’t go to shootout! WIN the damn game at any cost!
As always … GO COYOTES!
The Thrashers were cutting a swathe through the left coast. The Coyotes were nestling into their habitual bottom end of conference niche. Funny how fortunes can change in the flash of a goalie’s stick. Hey maybe the GDT thingy really worked?! Guess I’ll be doin those puppies as long as we keep winnin. LOL
Goodness! Where to start? Well I guess it’ll have to be brief because I leave for Cali in a couple of hours (gonna catch the boys at the Staples Center tomorrow w/ my kids).
Every single Yote contributed. There is absolutely nothin better than watchin these guys when they are playin unselfish, balls out hockey. The passes were crisp and on target (oh yeah and were actually recieved by their intended target). The PIMs were minimal, limiting ATL’s devastating PP potential. The hits were timely, the face off wins (while not fantastic percentage wise) were won at the most crucial times (Winni won 9 of 12!, Rhino and Hanzal all goin 50% or better). 9 Yotes grabbed points in this one. The biggest factor of course was Tellqvist, the guy was phenomenal every step of the way.
The only sour notes for the night were watchin Sweets struggle, Kurt is not 100% and it showed on the 2nd and 3rd Thrasher goals. The 2 were both scored on mental and physical breakdowns. On a day when the 4/44 combo is healthy and in synch those 2 goals just don’t happen. And the Jovo hit should have been called. Sorry, it wasn’t a good hit, it didn’t look intentional (more like an emotional JV goin for broke in the heat of the moment)… but it looked like one of those between the numbers and face into the boards hits that can really hurt a player. Thankfully Thornburn wasn’t injured in the MadJovo hit, he came up scrappin and gave JV a run for his money in the ensuing bout.
Have you ever seen anything as joyous as a Daniel Carcillo shootout goal? I really don’t think I have ever seen a sports figure as thrilled as our DC… both the teams gave him a ration of razzing but I don’t think they coulda been as proud even if they had scored it themselves. DC with the ‘unofficial’ Gordi Howe (goal, assist, fight)! The entire arena and both benches were stunned when DC took the ice (Hanzal hadn’t had a turn yet) but TGO’s ‘hunch’ certainly paid off last night. (see Yotes TV for the great one’s explanation of why he threw Danny into the mix)
The Thrashers are no joke right now. They are on a mission to build something for next year. Led by Kovalchuk and Lehtonen, they were strong all night. Making the most of their chances, strong on the puck and never once giving up. Gotta respect an opponent like that. Kovie and Little each had 2 points on the night and Lehtonen faced 40 shots without giving up any weak goals.
From Telly to Mad Jovo to that crazy Winnik line, the boys gave us a real show. Even Olli earned a reprieve from my constant ragging. Glorious win! Its nice to finally have that feeling again.
Will edit later for pics from Teal
News n notes…
Doan almost had his 250th goal but it was given to Lindstrom since it bounced off Lindy in a net scrum before going in. Can the boy just finally get a hattie? Keep pluggin big daddy, its comin.
Man, can it get any worse for the Habs? Just damn… at least we only have financial issues. Goes to show you, it can always get worse. I wonder if the Grab and Maul will jump all over them and give us a break for a bit.
GMDM was seen inhabiting the NYR press box recently… Prucha? Prucha?
As always… GO COYOTES!
Okay, I did a bunch of things to do my part to change our luck, cut off my hair, broke down and got good glasses so I can actually SEE who I’m cheering for every night LOL (ok those things were for me too but) I burned my troll doll in effigy and changed jerseys too, I guess the only thing left to do is start doing the dreaded GDTs. We all know how I hate those puppies but I am fresh out of ideas that don’t start with taking multiple people out behind the woodshed.
The Atlanta Thrashers are comin in today. (Is that thing on their chests really supposed to be a bird? whoa! who knew?) It’s a carniverous bird known for it’s lip smacking sounds. Well hell, let us all hope they don’t eat Coyotes or their fans (I for one don’t wanna be chased out of the Job followed by eerie lip smacking).
I kinda wish we could see some Ilya VS Ilya? Could be a Russian conflagration, as the canny Kovalchuk tried to outwit Beastgalov. Beauty and the Beast? (oops, girl moment… Kovi is pretty hot and apparently very sweet off ice, Hey! I’m old not dead, I can notice these things!)
Sorry I digressed… Anyway, after Telly’s brilliant performance the other night TGO has decided to give the start to the Tellinator. (I’m sure Bryz could use a break from all the drama anyway)
The Birds traded monster defenseman Schneider back to Les Habs for multiple picks a couple of days ago. Weird, as they started a long West Coast road trip right about then. But since they got red hot, maybe not so weird. The Thrashers are knocking off their left coast opponents like crazy (ATL vs ANA 8 – 4 and ATL vs LAK 7 – 6). They have 15 freakin goals in 2 games! Outscoring their opponents 6 – 3 in the first periods… IDK what they are doing right, but damn we need to be ready for this game from puck drop. “Interestingly, they’ve had this first-period epiphany on rinks that are unfamiliar to most of the team. Atlanta hadn’t played in Anaheim, Phoenix and San Jose since December 3-6 of 2005, and hadn’t been in Los Angeles since January 19, 2006. Of course not remembering that last visit isn’t so bad, as the Thrashers lost all four games and were outscored 20-12.”
Kovi will be a major key in this one, after the hattie he laid on ANA (three goals in a 6:51 span of the second period) and the 2 goals plus an assist he trounced the Kings with, Marty Hanzal will have his hands full. But don’t count out those other crazy Thrashers, they’ve been breaking personal milestones in points (Kozlov w/ his 800th) and PIMS lately and of course it’ll be our first look at rookie Zach Bogosian too. Remember its not just Kovalchuk that can do damage on this team. Watch out for noobie Brian Little (he’s been having a good year and is mega help on my fantasy roster, but I’ll take the hit gladly if we can shut him down tonight) and be very careful not to ignore that damn Coyote killer Peverly.
Keys to the game? WTH? Just win dammittt!
Apparently Wayne has figured out that his lines aren’t working. Doaner will be paired back with Rhino according to an after practice interview from the Yotes site. With Sauer back and Haler most likely suffering from new fatherhood syndrome I’m hoping DHL sits this one out. We need Mad Jovo to be on the ice and for Olli to step up against one of his former conference nemesis like he did against the Panthers. Z, I hope you worked on your outlet passes in practice sweetie…they been lackin. Lisin, Boeds don’t go to the neutral and wait for a pass… that doesn’t work for you, catchin a pass on the fly lets you use your tremendous speed… remember what I keep tellin Muells… MOVE YOUR FEET!
We’re coming up against a team riding high on a very successful road swing, we better be ready and there better not be any gaps in our hustle nor in our neutral zone coverage.
Check out the Thrasher’s GDT crews:
News n Notes:
Our friend the Ice Hockey Diva got the scoop on the fan brawl for us, according to her sources “there’s a guy that always sits behind the opposing team’s penalty box talking trash. (They’ve decided to add more security there, thanks to him.) Apparently, it was the Coyotes fan who said something to Phaneuf & the Calgary fan 2 rows up didn’t like it. Apparently, the Coyotes fan was wearing a large ring and now the Calgary fan has an imprint of it in his forehead.”
As always GO COYOTES!
Well they came home men. Bryzzie recorded his shutout of the season. What started out as a tentative game turned into a goalie battle of epic proportions in the Big D as Bryzgalov transmuted into Beastgalov and stole the show. Turco was no slouch his own self, turning in a great performance. If not for the heroics of the Russian pocket rocket Enver Lisin, we mighta gone to another double shutout shootout.
The boys did everything I asked of them… well… except you Olli. Man I hope you read this shite and get so pissed at me that you hattrick on Saturday, Monday damn… Thursday? Seriously! You piss me off so royally right now I could pluck you bald…oh wait… you are already bald. NVM but I am still wallowing in never before reached levels of pisstivity. I have no more words to describe you (they say a picture is worth a 1000 words)
Soooo Ilya Bryzgalov saved the boys bacon, going from mild mannered Russian goal keeper to some dire, crazed edition that we haven’t seen before. The amazing beast stymied the Stars all night long. It was one of his best performances of the season so far. (thanks Qbert, for the pic)
The warrior crew returned home and promptly shat their armor against the Canucks… blew a fargin 2 goal lead, let the Nuckleheads grab 3 (count ‘em and weep) unanswered goals in the 3rd. There was more scrummin than hockey goin on. *and I admit to wishing heartily that DMo coulda got loose on Hordichuck*
But all this pushin n shovin took us away from the game rather than shoring us up to play better.
Between losin the majority of the faceoffs in the 3rd (allowing the Nucks to gain better puck possession throughout) and PIMs up the wazoo, we basically handed the Canucks this one. 4 – 3 Canucks… final.
So to continue the shatting, we played the Flames. Always a fun proposition.. NOT. But we have been holding our own this season so it wasn’t all doom and dred. We came out hard n feisty (20 sogs in the first period! some of them quality shots that Kipper had to really perform on) The Mighty DWin started us out great (gettin that scoring gorilla off his back…not once but TWICE! for his first multi-goal game)
Unfortunately Winnie was the only Yote who seemed to be able to put the biscuit in the basket through 2 full periods.
The Flames were a whoole nother story, walkin into our zone in the 2nd and blasting Breezy full of holes at will. When will the boys learn that 1 – 1.5 periods played balls out will not win them a hockey game? The second period saw 4! (count ‘em again folks) 4 goals scored including a shortie from Glencross that was an embarrassment of a turnover that a group of mini-mites wouldn’t have made. The fire retardant failed us and the Flames outshot us 21 – 8!
The 3rd period we woke up and the Flames cooled down (each side only got 9 sogs). Doaner answered Lombardi’s 2nd goal (6th Flame goal on the night) makin it 6 – 3 and we got a little momentum going. But another goal from the Flames killed the crowd and people started leaving in droves. Well they missed a hellified show by the sneaky Tiki. Tikhnov ripped a slapper and a wrister past Kipper 3 minutes apart that put some life back in us… with time left on the clock. (Another first time multi-goaler!)
I had a foolish leap of faith (idn’t funny how hope will spring up like that?) that we might actually tie this game up. another brown stain added to the score sheet… 7 – 5… Flames… final. *high point of the night… Danny takin Phaneuf down.
Lowpoint of the night…Bertuzzi with what seemed to be 900 assists on the night*
The dismally seemingly perpetually brown film engulfed Monday night’s game against the Oilers too. But at least there was real hockey being played.
High points were
Low points were
And that is our home performance, all wrapped up in a brown miasma. We have one more chance to pull out of this homely rut on Thursday night. Please dear hockey goddess, haven’t we been punished enough? Whatever transgressions we’ve committed, please! we will never do it again. Just give us back our pre-ASG team. Oh and ma’am, if at all possible can we have one of those really cool road winning streaks like last year?
News n Notes…
Schlemko was called up again… does this point to a trade acomin? God I hope not. Hopefully this was just a precaution since Mr. and Mrs. Halestorm are expecting any minute. EDIT: Schlem went back to SA… I believe the mini-Haler arrived okay, just don’t know yet what the lil one is named yet.
KT was sent to the Rampage! Didn’t see that coming… although you all know I was an advocate for another year of college (minimum) or startin in the AHL and building up his strength from the giddyup for our boy. Wayne and Co did the kid a great disservice methinks, waiting this long. Hopefully KT will get mongo TOI and build up his confidence and strength… and help the Rampage stagger into a playoff spot. EDIT: KT is rockin the AHL. Multigoal games, huge TOI minutes and just all around tearin it up. 3 games, 4 goals, 3 assists and a +1!
TGO salary stuff… for those who give a shit and are makin a big deal out of his salary in this financial crisis.
Thanks Teal for the pics… more to come
As always… no matter how low or how high we get… GO COYOTES!
You know how much I love the Demolition Man. But it looks more and more likely that what I told you at the end of last season is truly going to come to pass. The Morris situation is definitely bleak… it hurts… it will hurt the team just as much I fear. What are the chances that we get lucky enough to pick up another set of surprises like (Klee/Sauer replacing Bally/Boynton?) Slim to none and sadly enough, I do believe Slim just left the room.
“I’ve talked to Donnie (about a new contract),” said defenceman Derek Morris, Phoenix’s most important unrestricted free agent-to-be this summer. “He obviously doesn’t have leeway when it comes to signing guys. I understand the issues here.”
There will be another huge hole in our blue line come March 4th apparently. Just damn….
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/02/16/spector_morris/
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/2009/02/16/20090216coyotesnb-CR.html#comments
EDIT: As always, the Yotes find a way to keep hope alive …
“Sources tell TSN the Phoenix Coyotes received an offer to buy the financially troubled team on Tuesday.”
Will a deal get done in time to keep our DMo? Only time will tell.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=267543&lid=sublink01&lpos=headlines_main
Tonight could be the night that MEN come home with 2 points or BOYS come home to start planning playdates at the golf course.
Bryzzie, tonight is Turco’s 23rd straight start, he says he’s ready and energized. Take notes, against all the odds, he is now 8-2-0 in his last 10. Great goalies, #1 goalies, THIS is how they roll. You’ve had rest and so have your boys. It’s time to serve the world notice that you ARE an elite goalie. If ever there was a time to start channeling your inner pillow, it is now. No rebounds! and if perchance one shot escapes, only you can make it harmless by knockin the hell aside (not straight out front in the farggin high slot). Stolen games are often the sweetest victories, give the sneaky thief in you a chance to shine tonight. Be the rally point, be the foil for your team to play for. You got this! You can do this! Your are Byzilicious!
Doaner, Jovo, Dmo, Rhino, Z…no excuses, no exceptions. If there was ever a time to lead, its RIGHT NOW! Tonight! If you truly are veterans, leaders, MEN… step up and make it count tonight. The rookies are desperate for leadership, desperate for a path to the post season, if you can’t or won’t show them how it’s done who will? Yeah, it has been hard but we have been right here for you. Believing in you, prayin for you, defending you and showing up for you. It is time for you to believe in yourselves, to be the men who bring playoff hockey back to the desert. It is time to WIN!
Joker, Joker, Joker. Some say you are a cancer, a flake, too soft, too euro to thrive in the west. I’m trying not to believe them, are you? Have you got what it takes? Is there a guy inside you that looks at what the Panthers are doing without him and aches? Do you REALLY want the post season bad enough to sacrifice body and soul? If he’s in there… let his ass out, let his stick do the talkin, express his anger and his rage and exert YOUR will on this game. It is time, time to be THAT leader, THE man that makes a difference to a team on the verge. It is time to WIN!
Baby Yotes, I know you are tired, in pain and scared to fail. You’ve stepped out of your sandboxes and into your wildest dream. It is time to pull out all the stops. There is no more time to play tentative, this is not the time to lose faith or to worry about the small stuff. You’ve worked, you’ve trained, you’ve bled to get here, it’s time to trust in all that preparation, time to believe in the dream. It is time to win!
All you Yotes! ITS SPRINT TIME! (just in case no one else told you) If you have another gear, this is the time to dig down deep and hit it. You see a hole? Go thru it, if its not there MAKE one! You see a guy with OUR puck? Mow his ass down and take it! You see any kinda daylight around Turco tonight? Rifle one at it! This is not the time for wait and see… for perfect shots… for intricate plays. This is down and dirty time guys. KISS (keep it simple stupid) hockey. Basic hockey. WINNING HOCKEY! Despite everything it all comes down to this… the team with the most goals wins! Yeah, interesting concept right? Well if you don’t shoot, it won’t be you! Period, point blank and simple. If its on your stick and you are in their zone, shoot it, if its on their stick, just don’t let them into our zone with it (if our netminders have to face 41 sogs again you should all feel ashamed of yourselves, if their goalie doesn’t face 42).
Come home warriors. Men. Winners. There is a winning streak of unimaginable proportions out there with your names on it. Are you men enough to own it? WE BELIEVE !
This pseudo-HerbBrooks-esque post is brought to you by the more realistic Onyx being overrun by the spirit of Z4dfense (yeah, that bitch is an unimaginably deranged homer) but we can seriously get behind her on this one.
Official Yotes preview.
Stars point of view.
Dallas Blogger GDT – nice work as usual Andrew!
As always… Go Coyotes!
