8 penalties? EIGHT?! Do I need to pull out my dictionary and make you go over the words discipline, control and restraint? I didn’t go over this in the keys to the game because I just assumed you knew better than to turn this into a special teams competition. Well I guess I was wrong, what part of #1 power play team shouldn’t get power play opportunities, didn’t you get?  ok, ok maybe thats a little harsh for a beginning…let’s back up a notch and take a look at the good, the not so good and the ‘other’ stuff. (I’m not going to call it bad stuff…just ‘other’)

The good -

the Korpedo! – Lauri Korpikoski (try spelling that 5 times fast!) This guy really doesn’t do things by half measure, he loves a good twofer. Turned on the afterburners and did his share with 2 goals to keep us in this one. Almost pulled an Upshall but just missed getting that 3rd goal. (yes we are going to refer to natural hatties as Upshalls until someone else gets one)

Vernon Fiddler – a shorty try, 4sogs, some hits and blocked shots plus a sweet 53% in the circles. That all counts as good in my book. 

Robert Lang – 53% on the dots, 2 assists and +1 for the night. I know I’ve been on him a lot lately but not for this game. Not bad Langer, not bad at all… even with the 2 give aways.

Peter Mueller -  +1, 1 assist and the beginnings of a mini point streak. (ok its not a ’streak’ exactly but the number of games with out a point are not as far between any more, its a start right?) Maybe its reaching but he needs a little positive encouragement after the way I’ve been riding him. He’s got the tools and he seems to be getting some confidence to use them finally, its good to see.

Also good… no highlight reel goals for either of the crazy DC Russians. whoo hoo! (really tiresome watchin that last one over and over again)

The not so good -

The Coyotes managed three shots on goal during their five power plays, but had six short-handed chances during the Capitals’ seven power plays. So should we just ask to be a man down instead of a man advantage from now on when the other team committs a penalty?

41% on the face off dots? 3/10? 4/11? Can you say puck possession fail? Not even gonna say whose stats those were but that is just ugly. Maybe we shoulda been watching a whole bunch of film on Backstrum/Steckel face offs cuz they were each 12/7. We have to get the puck before moving on to keeping it and even further forward, to doing something with it… like putting it in the net.

18 giveaways? sheesh, don’t have to say much about that do I?

The other stuff -

Z? sweetie, I know it is tough playing your side of the zone (the side that Ovie likes to backdoor goalies on). I realize you were under siege, its tough to be you under any circumstances but honey you are really gonna have to get a handle on that puck over glass thing. Gonna ignore the tripping penalty because Ovie skated over you and your stick and well, short of just giving him the lane, what could you do? Betcha if MamaZ was to look up the history on your meager penalty minutes, 75% or more would be POG…….. just sayin.

Sami? On your big triumphant return to where it all began? Hooking AND holding? You got tagged for 2 of the lazyman penalties doode. These happen when you are caught out of position or when you can’t handle your man… or both…ouch. You did have hustle and you did work hard but lets try smarter for a bit sweetie. You weren’t the only one getting outworked though, if its any consolation besides, duude you still got fans in DC! Crazy ones!

Scoring committee? Unusually MIA last night. Seemed like no one was shooting… the stats say 30 sogs but really? How many were actually sogs and how many were hail Marys thrown in the general direction of the Cap’s net? Neurosis or however you say that goalie’s name was shaky as hell at the start, no one picked up on that? Needed to keep him shook up with a decent barrage coming out of the gate. Lombo? Prucha? Aucoin? all zero sogs… sighhh.

Power play? Isn’t there any way we can decline these? Seriously? Please? didn’t we talk about this zero for PP thing before? 0 – 5 is just not acceptable… difference between taking a point out of this one and goin away empty handed.

Despite everything, this was a tight game, a close game for most of the 60 minutes. As Tippett usually says, we can be better, we have some stuff to work on. Seems like just when we get one thing straightened out, something else rears its ugly head. But we’re still #2 in the Pacific, #5 in the West and tied for 8th with PIT in the league. (It won’t take much to change those stats if we can’t pick up our road game a bit).

We’ve got another ugly game coming up on Tuesday night. The Ded Things are on the horizon in their own barn. The Joe has not always been kind to us with its funky bouncing backboards and snarky crowds. But it is definitely doable and a win there is the very thing we need to get rolling again.

In other news *******************

Yotes help Haiti “Prior to next Thursday’s game, the Coyotes players’ wives and girlfriends will hold a Dollar Drive outside Jobing.com Arena’s Gate 4 and Gate 7,  from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. During the game, the Coyotes Community Table, located outside section 115, will auction off a luxury suite for 12 people for a future home game, as well as autographed Coyotes memorabilia. In addition, Facility Merchandising, Inc. (FMI), which manages and operates the Coyotes Den Team Store, will donate 10% of its non-discounted sales from the evening to the cause.”

Yotes n friends on Twitter – Dave Strader, Scottie Upshall, Luke Lapinski and Todd Walsh have embraced the popular social networking media with Tweets on Coyotes happenings and unique information for the fans. We’re on Twitter too… sorta sporadically

I was thinking about our unemployed and under employed faithful fans when I ran across a couple of new places to look for employment. (besides the old faithfuls Jobing and Dice ), the economy picture isn’t pretty so every opportunity to help each other out is good stuff. If you have any faves or successful ones pass ‘em along we’ll try to get them out there.

http://www.us.randstad.com/

http://www.careerstallion.com/

top photo from Clyde

Lepisto love from Caps girl

As always…GO COYOTES!

OM frickin God… the storm warnings didn’t tell us a tornado named Scottie Upshall would touch down in the middle of Glendale. It wasn’t all about Scottie last night though. The whole team had wonderful performances but TheGr8Scott had the performance of his career with a natural hattie (his 1st ever)  in the 3rd period to put the icing on this cake.

THIS is incredible. Coming back like this after the slug-ugly game before? IDK if the ‘other’ Coyotes could have done it. This just may be the major difference between the old Yotes and the new ones. This newly found ability to pick ourselves up by the skate straps and find a way to win important games after a tough loss or skid.

It took about 50 games for us to even have a meltdown. That, in and of itself is a mini miracle. Then we go and pull off a rebound! Simply boggles the mind. Last season, there were meltdowns all the time and there was the post-ASG meltdown of EPIC proportions from which we just couldn’t seem to recover. (oh I know we got Uppy n Lombo and started showing signs of life again but we all know it was too little too late)

This Preds game had several key resiliancy factors to it. Our record when scoring 1st is simply incredible 23 – 2 – 2! We are a dangerous and nasty team with a small lead (its the big leads we need to work on keeping). It was good to see the boys bounce back hard. Around 10k or so insane fans battled the weather, which was horrific, to come see the kids play. They were noisy and raucus despite their chilled and soggy condition.

Biznasty – Paul Bissonnette has been having a crazy run, pure energy. Key goals, big hits and the ability to hang around for screens have been his hallmark lately. Keep it up Bizzy! He may not have the hands to put away all of his chances but he is creating buzz in the opponent’s zone nearly every shift by his tenacity and nasty.

Bryzzie – back in the saddle and rolling dirty. With the defense a little slow to get after shooters (especially in the high slot) Bryz has had his hands full. This game was no exception. Bryz made much of it look easy (the goal from that crap pass from Z to JV is not on Breezy) He’s doing his part again and that kept us in this game long enough to get the win.

Lombo combo featuring Shane Doan – sounds like a band at one of our jazz bars doesn’t it? Well any line featuring Lombardi gets major chances. The kid can really pass. If you can’t score with Lombo, you really have issues. Tippett has been swappin Doan around like a hot potato and it seems to have woken the Captain up. This line had chances all night and looked damn good doing it. Good job for remembering you ain’t just a passer Lombo, sweet goal, to give us the jumpstart we needed.

Czech your 2 points at the door, no return policy. The Czechs are still shutting off the entry through the neutral. People are expecting big points from Vrby and Pru but it is their efficiency at stealing pucks and trapping up the opponent’s big guns that make these guys so very valuable. Prucha has been a monster (he creates chances by making the other team make mistakes) he’s so wired I think he just makes the other players dizzy trying to get around him.

Gr8Scott – what can I write about Scottie’s game that other people haven’t already said? We could see Scottie gettin hotter over the last few weeks, his play without the puck has been really strong but he has been so close, so many times, we could tell his day was coming. Congratulations on the your first hattie Scottie. It was well deserved!

The gang was all in synch last night. A few faux pas here and there and the last 3 minutes we could see they were kinda easing up on the Preds. We gotta stop doing that! In this tight conference, especially against teams like the Preds, we have to learn to battle all 60 minutes. Overall though, everyone contributed to their role well. Impressed with Mueller’s game again as well as the continuing great play by Fiddy.

I love the Preds and their fans are simply awesome. Some of the most miserable hours of BK court were mitigated by the support of some bodaciously righteous Preds fans. Buddy and Mark to name just 2. I wish the Preds well in all games except against us of course. They are so much like us, from the scrappy no name team surprising everyone to the survival of the BaldSilly madness. Even their no nonsense coaching and pack style of play is similiar. On any given day we can trade spots with these guys. I hope we both make it to the ‘extra games’ in April.

In other news ***********************

I still hate MOST of the Buffalo fans in Phoenix. I hope your team sinks into a skid so horrible that they feel the effects of it for the next 100 years. Sorry Sabres, its not you, its some of your lice ridden, drunken, pond scum licking fans here in Phoenix. Yeah I went there and I am not sorry for it. While I am sure there are exceptions (hell I even know a couple, Hi Mike!) for the most part that description fits the majority of the slug apparelled jug heads present in the arena on 1/18/2010.

exhibit A – Standing drunkenly on a chair in the middle of Coyotes fans on the outside patio yelling at the top of their lungs “this is our patio now bitches” or this beauty “your team is so bad, no wonder you don’t have any effing fans”

exhibit B – Telling the Coyotes fans behind them, “your team sucks and you are all a bunch of losing effers, no wonder your team is leaving”

exhibit C – throwing their beer on a family for standing and cheering when the Coyotes finally scored… including a 2 year old girl

So, yeah, still pissed and still sorry assault with a deadly weapon wasn’t an option.

On to better news flashes **********

We had a season ticket holders event on Tuesday night. About 1k loyal and hardy souls braved the inclement weather to spend a few off ice moments with their boys. You might think the kids woulda been snarky and pissy after the Sabres debacle but you would be dead wrong. The guys had their best smiles and social chit chat for their fans. They shook hands, smiled pretty for pictures and were charming and sweet to all.

From the effervescent Doan to the shy Prucha, they were a delight to mingle with. I’m still Z’s girl but I gotta tell ya, if you haven’t spoken to Ilya Bryzgalov, you are really missing something special. (It’s not all about the funny Bryz, he’s a genuinely warm and sweet person.) My next jersey is probably going to sport the number 30 (sorry Sweets, I will get a #44 soon too)

Scottie Upshall made the NHL 3 stars list AND the NHLPA’s player of the day. How awesome is that for mad props?

Lots of interesting stories around the net on the Yotes, surprisingly, most of it informed and positive.

View from Suite 1114 – Scott Burnside of ESPN comes to visit.

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett on life in Phoenix and some words from the rest of the staff as well.

Ice Edge has been on the move lately too. No timetable is set for concluding the deal.

Next up, we face Alex O and the mad, bad and dangerous to know Caps today. We’ve fought them to a standstill lately. ( 4Ws out of the last 5 tilts) There will be nothing easy about the start of this mini road trip. The Capitals are on a 5 game winning streak behind the almost always red hot Ovie. The official preview talks about cooling those boys off. They may get Greenie, Erskine and Pothier back tonight so we better be ready. (Green has been on an offensive roll lately too)

Keys to this game?

Just say NO to the O! The always hard to play against Martin Hanzal and his Czech line will have their hands full with the crazy Russian highlight goal king. So far this line has had great success shutting down top scoring lines. This will be doubly important in this matchup. Taking Ovie out of the equation brings the Caps down to earth, where we can battle on a more even playing field.

Defense, discipline, defensive discipline? #2 is gonna have to step up his game (where forth are thou rough and ready Vandemeer?) With Jovo having to watch himself (due to the completely unfair tag of ‘repeat offender’) our number 2 hitter better get to making people’s heads swivel. The blueliners have to get the lead out, start holding the line a little better, keep their end up at the neutral zone and keep playing street sweepers for our back-on-track Bryzzie. We gotta stop lettin our netminders face so many shots every night.

Goal tending needs to be mind bending. Bryz seems to be back. He got a taste of rubber last game (stopping 41 of 43 shots). Are his head and heart back into the quest? Tonight is going to help answer that question. The Caps have been averaging around 33 shots per game, Bryzzie has been facing a lot more puck than that lately so, no softies in this joust! We just can’t afford the let down and the uncertainty that come with those.

This is definately a winnable game. We need to match intensity and physicality with the Capitals. But we will definitely have to play all 60 minutes (this team actually plays better from behind) so score first and score often. No coasting!

Wanna watch the game but don’t have the Versus option? Check out the online feed from Yahoo sports. Wanna talk to other fans during the game? TheNHLarena has a chat, as does the HFBoards group. Five for Howling will have a thread later today too. Not near a computer at 5pm? Check out your radio to listen to Heeter on Xtra 910. Ooops almost forgot… tweeples can follow game on the newly created @coyotesgameday Twitter account.

~Upshall pic from the Associated Press and Azcentral – no photographer credit shown…

As always… GO COYOTES!

Can we please make this happen again? Lifelong Sabres fans removing the Buffaslug to return from the darkside would be a perfect way to end MLK day.

Last game AZBarbie was shelled to hell and back (39 sogs), he stopped 37 of them. It wasn’t quite enough since our boys couldn’t find a way past Ryan Miller more than once. We lost 2 – 1 in the HSBC. This is a short series, we only face each other twice. We do NOT want to let them sweep us. The Sabres are 7-0-3 while we are 4-3-3 in the last 10. Let’s wreck their road trip for them and make them really mad for when they face the rest of the Pacific. (Maybe they’ll cut a winning swathe through those guys and help us maintain our position in the division) muwhahaha! Such an evile plan, I like it!

With 8 players over 20 points and a goalie sporting a 26-8-4 record, these guys are not going to be easy to take down. We need to have everyone on the same page, mentally and especially physically. Remember this?

Keys to this game?

The Sabres had to go to OT to take the Thrashers and to shootout to get a point against the Islanders. They aren’t scoring a whole lot right now (only 4 goals scored in regulation, so far on this road trip), its all about Ryan Miller. The guy is a monster but he can be had. Right now Ryan is leaving rebound after juicy rebound out there for the taking. We have to be ready to give second and even third personal efforts to get anything past him. Screens and redirections will be our only friends tomorrow night.

Every line has to be an offensive juggernaut. Sacrifices will have to be made to get inside the Sabres kitchen. We’ve opened the flood gates (I hope) for Doan and Mueller. Prucha, Fiddy and Vrbata are hot right now and even Winnie has had a taste of blood. Let’s keep those gates open. Draw first blood and keep shooting til the final horn. And remember, if you are gifted with a power play for hard work and moving your feet, you damn well better score on it. It can mean the difference between being swept and climbing the ladder over Nashville.

Defense? Hey! Wake up! We’re gonna need you guys to be sharp. None of that laid back crap. If you don’t cover Breezy’s butt, we’re all in deep kimchee, old, sour kimchee (have you ever smelled bad kimchee?) You guys left him wide open more times than I want to think about in the third period against the Wild…don’t let it happen again. Make the neutral zone an ugly, unhappy place to be wearing the Buffaslug.

Bryzzie…watch yer six and yer glove side high! If those boys have been watching film, they know just where your forcefield ends.

No lazy or stupid penalties. We’ve been fairly disciplined lately and we’ve been rewarded with wins. Do NOT give these guys any wiggle room. Their PP is dangerous on any given night with Vanek and the red hot Connolly. You do however have my permission to punk Patrick Kaleta as often as you can get away with… but if you are going to take a penalty for it… make it well worth the price.

Doors open early 4PM for a 5pm puck drop. Need tickets? Ambassadors club discount is still available. Its too late to buy Pepsi at the CircleK for tomorrow but you can still do that for Teppo’s ceremony night on the 30th (last night of the Pepsi ticket deal) Also remember to follow @walshtodd on twitter for your Coyotes insider news and a chance at free tickets (it’s sometimes lonely being a Yotie news guy over there in Twitterland, join his followers, make a loyal broadcaster happy)

As always… GO COYOTES!

Speaking of going away mad as hell, was that not a corker of a way to end the Wild game? Did Yandle really unload on OhNo? Did Fiddy really pull that poor putz Sheppard outta that elf pile and put the smack down? OH WAIT silly me…that was last game. We need to click forward to last night, same result, a win, different ways and means to get there.

Can we get a damn whistle? If this ref can see a puck in there, I’m Halle Berry. Obligatory ref bitching … first you blow whistles like you get paid by the tweet, then you act like the whistle is somewhere unmentionable and you can’t get it out in mixed company. Consistency zebras, consistency! Ok, all done, back to the game.

40 effin minutes!  The boys still have to learn the main lesson of success in the NHL.

The boys started off the first period hot behind Pruuu!!! Under 8 minutes in, Petr struck with the wrister. Then 3 minutes later Doaner would benefit from the line change with another wrister (he got everything on it from the high slot and it was beautiful). We may have to call the line of Doaner,Fiddy and Winnie, the bull in a china shop line. Those boys all play a similar style, mostly slash and burn run ‘em over ‘em or run through ‘em hockey. Whatever you call them, they clicked well last night.

The second period, the Wild showed a little gumption and Lantendresse was able to put the only marker of the period on the board with a serious persoanl effort and a nice wrister of his own. We let our foot off the gas a little in this period and paid for it. We also failed to capitalize on the 2 power plays and we’re damn lucky that lil fail didn’t bite us in the butt later.

The 3rd period was where all the action was. 5 penalties and 4 special team goals between the teams as the action became more wide open. Aucoin, Prucha and Fiddler would all light the lamp in the first 10 minutes seeming to put this game out of the Elves reach at 5 -1. But never count a Christmas elf down before the final buzzer. As soon as we started coasting again, Lantandresse would again ramp up the volume with a PP goal, followed by Owen Nolan’s PP goal (the trips to the box nearly burned us good) and one more from Lantandresse for good measure at even strength for the hattie. Whoa wha happened to our 4 goal lead? The Wild pulled within 1 and were going for broke when Vrbata took the wind ot from under their sleigh with his goal 1 minute before the final buzzer.

Tippett was very unhappy leaving the ice. As a coach I don’t blame him, that game really shoulda ended 6 -1 but we got sloppy/lazy and nearly got slapped. Moral of this story? Play all 60 minutes! The first period 100% effort. The second period bump it up a notch to 110% if you aint gettin the job done. Third period, play like your life depends on it and if you don’t have that gear… maybe you shouldn’t be playin this game.

Notable player in this game? Big Ed Jovanovski and his 4 assists. Who is this madman with the career high assist contribution? Well, I think its the guy we all have been waiting for since TGO & Barney showed up at his doorstep to offer him 6million per year and an NTC. 4 assists, +4 and 2 blocked shots, now THATS a hell of a night for the big guy on his return from suspension. Being branded a repeat offender doesn’t sit well with BigE, there were no hits last night but he certainly made his presence felt in spite of that.

Ouchies – Uppy had one of those PMS kinda nights. Going full Gr8-Scott-out all night earned him a few penalties he’d rather not have garnered at the end. When you are playin this game balls out sometimes shite happens. I hope he doesn’t get more than a stern talking to this time, we really need him in these games.

Pruuuu!!! Is there anything better than PetrPuck on a tear? Renney must be so proud pissed. After doing so much to tear this kid down, it must be galling to see him doing so well in the desert. Keep on giving him the ultimate finger Petr…successfully proving you are a hell of an asset. Funniest part of the night came on the last goal which looked like a Pru hattie. Hats were raining down all over the ice… Pru was on the bench laughin his ass off and pointing to Vrby. Turned out that last goal wasn’t Petr’s, it was Vrby’s. Showed great emotion on the part of the crowd and just how much they wanted the kid to have that honor. Ah well, he got 2 big goals and provided awesome entertainment.

Vern? Is that you Vern? 65% in the dots, an assist and the GWG…shorthanded no less. Now that right there is a complete player. Is there anyone on this team that isn’t underrated? Fiddy has been rock solid all season and tonight was no exception. But tonight was a case of Fiddling while Backstrum got burned for the 3rd time.

Hit of the night? None other than Marty Hanzal on one of our least favorite elves Cal Clutterbuck.

Big Czech!

Although Pyatt on Zanon was also pretty sweet. (Zanon should try glare-away for those wayward helmet moments)

Fair crowd (around 12k) for a night when just about every other sport in town was available (ummm the Suns and Cards lost miserably). Those 12k were vocal as all get out. On their feet alot and even some pockets of fans bowing to the force of nature they call Breezy. Talk about a Russian cold front! Ilya Bryzgalov was putting the freeze on the opposition but you could see a couple of spots he still has to work on for when the boys break down (notably the fat juicy rebound to Nolan as an example). Z, Jovo and Winnie all took a turn at playin street sweeper for the big guy in this game but for the most part Breezy did his fair share, especially on the Brunette almost goal.

THIS is the team I always wanted to see, scoring seemingly at will while playing smart defensively. Hope we see them often… ummm, without the 10 -15 minute lag times. Even sweeter, they won, we won so there were reward tickets for all in attendance. You might wanna use those to watch Thursday’s game against the Predators. (It looks like a hell storm may break out in that one with NSH tied with us for 4th in conference and 6th in league BIG POINTS to be had that night)

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. We face the extremely hot Buffalo Sabres on Monday. Puck drops early (5pm for the MLK holiday).

EDIT*** just got word that Todd Walsh has some tickets to give away for the We Win, You Win game on 2/13… he does good tweets too so go follow him at  @walshtodd for your shot at tickets for 2/13 AND great Coyotes news.

**photos from Norm Hall and the AP feeds

As always … GO COYOTES!

What a night! We exorcised a few demons Thursday night. We got 2 points in regulation against one of the premiere teams in the league, We played the system and worked hard for an entire 60 minutes. Stupendous night! Absolutely stupendous. So much to mention, I will just hit a few highlights for now.

Peter Mueller, dude! See what happens when you shoot the puck! Whenever you get down or discouraged, think about beating one of the most amazing goalies of all time. Mano e Mano and you came out the winner. That should keep the starch in your stick for quite awhile bucko. Congratulations!

My baby boy had a hell of a night. Great game as always but getting the game winning goal on Marty Brodeur! Priceless. (Thanks Pyatt and Vrby for the screens)

Winnie, Pyatt and Fiddy! You guys rock. Strong shifts, not one ounce of give up in you three. Winnick is THE man. Paid the price and got rewarded for it finally.

Uppy and Pruuu!!! were like spider monkeys on crack… chances everywhere when those two get goin.

Second period…. lets not dwell on it. We were out of synch and let the Devils back into the game.

What really counts is halting the mini-skid in its tracks and grabbing two points to get back into our solid positioning in the standings. You do realize we’ve stayed in the top 8 of the league nearly all season long. Not like last year when we kept sliding down and climbing back up into contention. This is a whole different team. A better team and a more consistently battling team. It feels great to be able to say that.

So tonight is Shane Doan Bobblehead night. I know it may be tough to fill the seats with the Cards also playing but if you can get there, please do so. Its the Captain’s night and we need to do him proud. Game 3 against the Wild. They uused to own us but we’ve managed to get by them twice already. Let that trend continue please. What needs to happen?

Keys to the game? same as last time and the time before please.

Get the dirty goals. Gotta jump on Backie quick. Lots of bodies in front of the net getting multiple whacks at every scoring chance. The guy is good but he can be beat (we’ve already done it twice this season) St Nick hasn’t been having a good month, lets keep it that way. Plus Josh would like some more action and he’s a sweetie so we can spank Nick and maybe Josh will get the Wild’s next game? Another goalie showdown is about to go down. May ours be the last to blink!

Be aggressive and stay that way all 60 friggin minutes. Do NOT play to protect a lead!  We’ve seen how much difference a PP can make in a game, let’s keep ours rolling. Jovo is back tonight and there’s another big body to screen for the PP.

Watch the Wild’s dynamic duo, Koivu and Miettinen and for god’s sake keep an eye on Havlat. Those 3 spell trouble with a capital T! Contain Clutterbuck but don’t let him get to you, he’s a menace and will start as much trouble as he can. Stay focused on the game not the antics.

The elves must die. Lets get wild n crazy on the Wild! Bring the noise tonight people, the team really loves and appreciates it. If you need tickets you know the link by now but here it is again Ambassador’s Club Discount. code word: coyotes

********personal note to BizNasty… good running into you (literally and got a great hug out of it) You gotta get back into the line up doll. You are missed.

As always… GO COYOTES!

I was too damn mad to write last night. I wasn’t sure what would fly off my fingertips. I wouldn’t mind the refs knowing how I felt about their horrid performance but I didn’t wanna say something I might regret about the team in all that heat.

I probably shoulda just put this one out of my mind but now that I’ve cooled off a bit…

Antonio Jason Labarbera! Stay in your damn net! I am about 2 seconds away from duct taping you to the posts. You are not a good puck handler but you do have some redeeming qualities if you just friggin play to your strengths and stop shooting yourself in the skates. (GMDM, I am trying to see what you saw but after games like last night, it is just tough. I have been trying to avoid saying this… but maaan I wish we had that little Swedish Wolf back)

Daniel Winnick never gives up and never says die. Thank you for providing a ray of tenacity and maintaining the system in the face of great adversity. Too bad your team didn’t help you carry the banner.

Joe Thornton… you POS excuse for a player. I hope someone rings your bell soon. What you did to Z was stupid and totally uneccessary. I officially HATE you and hope the Sharks bomb again in the playoffs and you get traded to Carolina. And yes, your butt IS big, its not the shorts A-hole.

Thank you Vrby for not letting this game be a goose egg. Please get hot soon… you too Pruuu! and Mueller and Doaner and… well, you get the picture.

Dave Tipppett… the Sharks seem to have stolen a pair of balls from somewhere. WTH? was Paul Bissonette? Can you say Shelly, McLaren, Clowe and Murray? Never assume these guys will only play skill hockey. Paul deserved to be in this game (if he isn’t hurt) Biz ‘earned’ the right to play last night. Didn’t he spark a friggin comeback against the Isles? Didn’t he score when no one else could find a way? He might not be the biggest deterrent against arse clowning but he’s the best we got. Unless you got plans to call up Francis? What does it say about our abilities when even the Sharks decide to mess with us and no one does a thing about it? (Vandemeer? Aucoin? Pyatt? you all have reps for not taking much shit, we could sure use a bit of that about now.)

This entry reads like good cop, bad cop doesn’t it? That game apparently made me schizoid.

We didn’t follow the system. We didn’t stick up for each other. We didn’t play as a pack. We didn’t deserve to win. Bryzzie isn’t the only one who needs to reassess his game and get his act back together. Stop the madness. On any given day this team is top 10 but only if it’s all for one and one for all.

We are beat up and struggling but it is not the end of the world. This is our first 3 game L streak. We have to find a power play, teams will continue to beat up on us because we can’t fight and win and we can’t make them pay on the score board. If everyone remembers their role and does their job to the best of their ability it will be our last one. All eyes are on you, its gotta be tough knowing everyone expects you to fail. Don’t listen, don’t read, don’t pay those haterz no mind. WE BELIEVE! and we’re behind you 110%, so stand up and skate proud, skate like a pack and make yourselves and us proud.

*** personal note to the NHL… there needs to be repercussions for your officials. I know they are supposed to do their best since they are paid professionals but apparently thats not working so well. Seriously! Before this game I just chalked some of the BS down to general whining about reffing. Now I wonder what is going on at ref school and if there is a minimum eye sight requirement for your zebras. Really, it just keeps getting worse. You gotta find a way to enforce consistency and at least a modicum of understanding what the hell they are supposed to be doing. Cause it sure as hell ain’t impartially reffing hockey.

***personal note to the reffing community… many of you suck, some of you are trying to do a good job and sometimes get it wrong, some of you should be fired and tarred and feathered. I have never alternated between hate and loathing so often as this season. Every team deserves respect and at least an attempt at impartiality. Please clean up your act, there is only so much a sport can take before it becomes a joke and fans walk away. Think of it as job security.

On that note…

Martin Brodeur brings his record breakin butt to town tomorrow. It would sure be nice to mend our tattered reputations with a win against the Devils. It can be done you know. Hell WE’VE done it before.

The keys to this game?

Well I would say goalie battle! except I’m not sure how deep into the dark Bryzzie has gone. We just might be seeing AZBarbie (I will bring the duct tape just in case… I wonder how much money a flight from Russia last minute would cost? Anyone got Telly’s phone number?) Okay truly, the only way we can hope to end this one with dignity is for whoever steps between our pipes to have all the mojo they can muster. ( I will break out my lucky bingo troll just in case)

Contain Parise, Zajak and Captain America, Jamie Langenbrunner… oy vey! The neutral zone is about to become one very dangerous place but if we can hold them out there or to perimeter shots, we just might come out on top. The Devil’s are very hit or miss when it comes to offense but all it takes is one of these guys to tag up and Marty will hold the line. My solution is to just say no to the dynamic trio.

Take advantage of the few weak spots like Pandolfo or Pelley. Both are -5 and may just provide the chink in the Devil’s armor. Find some guys who may not be cookin with gas and blow through them instead of dumping and recovering. Use your speed! Use your aggression! Use your heads! Trust me on this, you guys can do this…together!

Watch out for Salvador and Peters. If you don’t want a repeat of Tuesday night, keep these guys in your sights and don’t let them punk your mates, they’ve been known to throw down and you can’t go out like that. We don’t have anough individual knuckle power to go toe to toe with anyone but if you let them know right away, mess with any of us, you mess with all and the game should proceed peacably.

If there is an ounce of pride in your bodies, do not let the phrase 0 for 7 on the power play ever be said about you again. A power play is like a gift. Try to score on one please. Let the words urgency and tenacity be your guide. (Peter, please shoot the puck, you pass like a dream but doode! please shoot the puck on the power play kthnxbai)

Just do what you do best, pack mentality! Score by committee and don’t let Brodeur’s press scare you. Everyone can be had on any given day.

Puck drops at 7pm, doors open at 6pm. Hope to see you all there. If you still need tickets, its too late to do the CircleK/Pepsi thing (24hrs advance is required) but not to late to take advantage of the Ambassador Club discount.

As always… GO COYOTES!

Good news: Upshall has been activated! TheGr8t Scott has been deemed fit for duty and will hit the ice tonight. We missed him alot, thankfully the kidney shots that creep Holmstrom gave him didn’t do any permanent damage. (Where’s his friggin suspension? Scottie was IR’d and facing urine checks for a couple weeks from that cheap shot)

Bad news: JovoCop has been deactivated. Mr. Jovonasty has been suspended for 2 games and fined more money than I have even seen in my lifetime for his elbow on Tavares. It is sad that Jovo is now considered a repeat offender and people like Burrows (deliberate slash to the knee of Vrbata) don’t even rate a looksee*EDIT(oops ROFL, I stand corrected, apparently SOMEBODY sees thru AlexB). Don’t even start with me about the elbow. He did it and although I’m still sure the big guy wasn’t out to cripple the kid, it appears pretty damn intentional. We can play without him but our guys better have eyes in the backs of their helmets without that big deterrent on the ice.

Sad news: Porter and Hoggan are back to San Antonio. We hate to see them leave but consolation is, everytime they come back they look better and better. Its good to know that our future roster players are almost ready for prime time.

Cool news: We have a new featured blogger. In honor of our Pacific Division chase its Sharks afficianados; Dudes on Hockey! These guys are informative and often edgy (just the way we like our blogs) So be sure to go check them out for your San Jose Sharks news, notes and insight.

So it is time once again to face the fish people. This is the 5th of 6 and we’ve gotten a point off these boys every time we’ve played but this time we really need to get both points. This is the time of the year where cushions start disappearing. 3rd one day and 9th the next is not that rare of an occurrence in the Western Conference and the Pacific Division is one of the toughest in the league.

Keys to the game?

Play THE system! Tippett has the knowledge to get us to the post season. He can lead us to water but he can’t make us drink. The boys have to listen and follow the plan. Shark’s Captain Rob Blake describes our system pretty well in the local news. “Phoenix, is a team that tries to frustrate you,” Blake said. “They play well. They’re pretty patient throughout the neutral zone, and they want you to be frustrated and either take penalties or create turnovers.”  It has worked very well… no deviations tonight guys.

Goaltending better be straightened out. As the Olympic break gets closer, Breezer has to be getting a little distracted no matter how hard he tries not to. Even though his last start wasn’t pretty, we can probably all agree that it wasn’t his fault. (We pretty much sucked the first 2 periods and the extended man down scenario didn’t help either) Hopefully, facing Nabby (Breezy’s best competition for the Olympic starter spot) should focus the big guy on this game.

Offensive touch is on the verge of breaking out! (No, really. We proved we can do more than 2 goals a game and its time to show off our new skill again tonight) Getting Upshall back gets the Korpedo off the main line which should be good for a few extra chances at beating that crazy alien Nabokov.

Enough with the goals against! Play friggin defense. Forwards need to forecheck like their lives depend on it. We’re down a big part of our blueline without Jovo. The dmen are gonna need every advantage they can get. Do NOT give that Marleau line any leverage. And for gods sake NO POWER PLAYS if at all avoidable.

Its our barn, we’re your peeps, play for us! We’ll give you back double what you give out.

************In other news************

The Ambassador’s Club met on Saturday for the second time. AJ is in the lead with like 50 purchases through the program. There were a bunch of us tied with 4 or more purchases. We’re doing good guerilla marketing for the boys. Giving out the cards, posting the links and just basically trying to talk butts into the seats by any means possible. Thank you to everyone who has purchased tickets so far. The promotion will be ending soon (I’ll get the exact date so you guys don’t miss the opportunity) remember its not just for the game of the day, you can buy the discounted tickets for packages and for games all the way through April. (Including The Ded games, Shane’s Bobblehead night, we win you win nights too.) Also don’t sleep on the CircleK/Pepsi deal. The cheap soda prices ends Jan 31st but the choice of games ends before that. Grab your 10bucks and go buy the 4 (8) pks, take your receipt AND the voucher from the display to the Jobarena and score 2 lower bowl (80 & 100 buck seats!)

Doug Moss did a mini Q & A for us. The team is talking about snowbird packages with WestJet and a hotel in the Biltmore area to package with Yotes tickets for our Northern friends to get out of the cold, see great hockey and enjoy our great city. Talk about a great shuttle idea vacation package. The Yotes have bid on the ASG week for 2011/2012/2013. Don’t count on 2011 even though we’ve heard from Bill Daly’s lips that we’re in the running. (the BK and ownership stuff just won’t get settled in time most likely to make us a serious choice) BUT, we’re most likely going to get the nod for one of the other 2 bids. We were also updated about our beloved #44. Sweets has been out all season and is still having issues. There is a slim possibility that we might not get him back at all for this season which just blows. The old  injury continues to plague him, affecting his skating, balance and the odd headache. We hope he continues to progress and makes it back to the roster after the Olympic break.

Haterz are really silly people. They don’t listen and they sure make up some really crappy stuff to natter on about. The NHL has said repeatedly that it may take as long as the end of the season to get our ownership deal done. Yet some dorks (mostly AZCentral POS commenters so I guess any credibility goes down the tubes straight off the bat) continue to cling to January 15th as some doomsday decision making date that will knock Ice Edge out of the buyers process… and they are gloating about it. Sheesh! Get a different hobby haters. But my favorite thing so far is the conspiracy stuff. They apparently don’t watch our games, don’t see the crap we take from the refs. Now they are all about the NHL trying to give us preferential treatment to get into the post season. ROFLMBFAO, don’t bother getting a hobby haterz, get a life instead, you guys have waaay too much time on your hands and not enough working brain cells.

So, puck drops at 7pm, doors open at 6pm. Hope to see you all there!

As always… GO COYOTES!

Can you say holy shitezky Desert Faithful? Everybody screwed up something last night… except Winnie and Bizzy. It was a night of inane errors and working harder but definitely not smarter. I might as well start with the weirdest feature of this black comedy of errors. Yotes 4, Islanders 5 SO loss, ptooey!

I sincerely wanted to strangle the refs most of the night but it wasn’t exactly ALL the boys in stripes fault. Oh my bleeding eyes Mr. Tippett. Did you really decide NOT to put a man in the box? I know most coaches don’t but doode! this is the Phoenix Coyotes, if it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all some nights. NEVER take any chances with fate. In case you all missed it, our coach finally showed that he is not perfect. When Jovo was called for the 5 minute major and subsequent game misconduct, Tip decided not to put a player in the sin bin for the 5 minutes. In his defense, rarely is there not some type of stoppage of play in that time span. Well, the wiley veteran, Rolie the goalie made the most of that miscalculation by keeping the puck in play despite our numerous attempts to at least get an icing for stoppage. Roloson said “I heard the crowd cheer so I knew the (penalty) was up, but I knew the longer I could keep it going, the more chances we had. It was a chance that they took.” (Thanks Rolie… damn, I hate smart goalies.) We played for around 10 minutes short handed. (Ughh… Hanzal finally just slashed some idiot Isles guy to stop the madness) if not for that, we mighta played the entire 2nd period on the shorts. So we were short again and then the capper… Aucoin was called for a penalty too. The Islanders took advantage of the whole debacle with 2 goals.

Shane Doan rallied his troops and apparently showed them his angry face. In the 2nd intermission the Captain gave a rousing speech, raised the battle flag and led the guys out for the period of the season so far.

Paul ‘Biznasty’ Bissonette – took the Captain’s call to arms to heart. His main talent wasn’t needed so Bizzy found another way to help his mates. He scored. It was an ugly goal but it was a turning point to the game. He gave the boys a jump start by grabbing that first rung of the comeback ladder. Kudos to you big guy!

Daniel ‘the Tazmanian Devil’ Winnick – it wasn’t the first time that don’t-call-me-Pooh has done this to a team but it might be the most crucial and exciting time. It felt like 10 minutes as Danny circled around in the Isle’s endzone. By the end, Big Bad Dan had nearly the entire Isle’s line chasing him. Even our guys seemed in awe as they hung back thinking the puck would be stolen and outletted. You really are Dan THE Man.

Can anyone name the date… and the year we last scored 3PP goals in 1 game? Well save this date because that is exactly what we did. Biz started us off and Pyatt and Mueller each saw his goal and raised him one. All in less than a 4 minute span. (It cost Lang a few ounces of blood from a high stick but I think he’d almost agree it was worth it) According to those sitting much closer than me, the faceoff after the highstick was delayed while Langer contained the mouth full of blood long enough to get the shift started. A doff of the hat to Peter Mueller for his second goal of the season, it was pretty and timely and much appreciated.

Jason Labarbera stepped into the net and played his ass off. He stopped the Isles in their offensive tracks. They couldn’t score again until the shootout. I really thought he’d pull the guy’s buns out of the fire but alas his mojo wore off and he got bit by a couple that he woulda normally stopped. S’okay AZBarbie, you were a rock for that comeback tour de force and we did grab a point.

We all wait with bated breath to see if Mr. JovoNasty will be suspended for the hit on the next, next one, John Tavares. The crease is always going to hold an element of danger and feces happen in there. Jovo has been playing hard but not dirty (he’s an unstoppable force when he plays like that and he’s definitely a danger to the opposition everynight) Desert Warfare Jovo doesn’t try to hurt people on purpose so I hope he doesn’t pay the full price for this hit. Yes there was an elbow. Was it an intentional attempt to injure? I don’t think so. But we shall see how this plays out. We have already proven we can survive without him but life sure is easier with him patroling the back end.

Our status didn’t change a whole lot (still 4th and 6th .. kinda) but some other folks caught up to us (tied w/ CAL @57 points each) and some other folks are in striking distance if we don’t get our groove back. (VAN,COL,NSH breathin down our necks w/ 56/55 points) Tippett hockey and continuing where we left off last game will be the only thing that can stave off the slavering hoards that want our spot.

We play our uber nemesis, the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. We sit #2 behind these guys in the Pacific. They are a little out of reach at the moment (we all know how that can change in the blink of 2-3 games). These are huge points (aren’t they all in the 2nd half?) and taking 2 points here, closes the gap between us and the Fish. Even more importantly, those points put distance between us and the suddenly hot squads rising beneath us.

Get your tickets for the game early, we’re starting to be the hot ticket in town right behind the butt kicking Cardinals who managed to have the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history on Sunday night. Go Cards Go! The game on 1/16 is not only Shane Doan Bobblehead night, its a we win, you win night! The seats are almost gone so grab them quick. The Ambassador’s Club promo will be gone soon as will the Circle K Pepsi deal. Both are still available for the games in January so I’d hit them up now in order to reserve your place.

As always… GO COYOTES!

So give up the 2 points and getout. Yep, that’s what we need to tell NYI when they hit the ice. The Jobarena is OUR house! We need a new winning streak anyway so why not start with these tards.

We went on the road and survived EDM by a Doaner prayer in OT (losing not 1 but 2! two goal advantages in the process) and then got spanked by VAN and that little punk Burrows for a .500 performance. It does not bode well for the next big road trip. We’ll have to make this home stand count. Our home record (26-15-4) has been keeping us in the NHL’s upper echelon and is providing a cushion against our mediocre performances in other barns. It is time to up the ante.

NYI has been making a bit of a push. Behind the hot start of rookie John Tavares, the Isles have been hanging about the fringes of the Eastern Conference. While Tavares may have cooled off a bit, the unexpected secret weapons of Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Matt Moulson have gotten hot and have been making big noise for the beleagured franchise. For some reason, we always have trouble with Rolie the goalie. Dwayne Roloson is like 6-1-0 against us and it sucks. Time to find a solution for him as well.

Keys to this game?

Open a can of whup ass. Hit Rolie high and often. He’s deadly on the ground. Gotta make him move and move often. Although he’s no spring chicken, he’s still fast laterally and always plays so damn low to the ice. I’m targetting Rolie as the net minder to beat since DP is recently rehabbed, recently started and probably won’t start since they’ll be bringing him back slowly (they won’t want to risk another injury for the fragile lil guy from pushing him too hard so fast) and of the pair of backups, Rolie has the best record against us compared to Biron.

Find a damn power play! This is getting ridiculous. 0 for like 5 in the last game and we don’t even want to look at the cumulative numbers. We’ve gotta be like 28th in the league or real close to it by now.

Z and Jovo! wtf? you were -3 last game! Minus friggin 3! Don’t let it happen again mmkay? The defense has to get solid again because there will be 4 youngins gunnin for some goals.

Speaking of getting solid again.. forwards? Forwards? I know Scottie leaves a big hole but c’mon, someone needs to step up. Doan is bizzy hittin everything that moves, somebody needs to put some quality shots on the net. And please don’t forget your defensive duties. For cryin out loud, our success has been predicated on owning the neutral zone and if you guys don’t step it up the defense can’t hold the line.

IDK who gets this start since Breezy looked a lil worn and pissy last game and I’m too lazy to go look. But whoever it is better be sharp. This is home territory and we can’t afford any headcase crap tonight. All eyes will be watching carefully to see if the 2nd half jinx is alive and well. Don’t give them any fodder.

While I’m feeling pissy might I add, if anyone takes liberties feel free to drive them through the boards. You guys are supposed to be so damn close, defend each other dammitt! Fiddler had no business taking on Glass while he was still injured and hurting and Burows received zero payback for doin the nasty on Vrbata (instead you let the little rat faced puke get a hattie) NO MORE MR. NICE GUYS  play like you mean it… for all 60 minutes. Injuries be damned, if you really are a team, play like it. (COL, DET and a host of other teams can play through the key injuries, you better learn how.. and learn fast) We get beat up every night and pretty soon there won’t be much left of the pack to work with if you don’t make it clear to teams that they can’t away with that crap. Now I don’t mean go out and just do stupid, meaningless retaliation but you really need defend yourselves and your mates (Vandy! Taypye! Jovo! Biznasty! yeah I’m looking at you guys) *much love to the equally pissed off about it DTG!

Thank you to the peeps who took advantage of the Ambassador’s Club discounts! Glad to have you onboard. And remember the Circle K Pepsi deal runs til the end of January (buy pepsi and get Yotes tickets free… gotta have your voucher AND the receipt to redeem them at the box office)

So tailgating as usual in Lot J from 2 – 5pm. (peeps are bringing their Yotes memorabilia to trade if you need to fill in the gaps in your collection)Doors open at 5pm and puck drops at 6pm. Ambassador’s club meeting at 3:30pm (go in at gate 5). See you all there.

As always… GO COYOTES!

Do we rent? There are a lot of teams with extra talent out there that either cap space, new coaches, attitudes or rebuilds are making available.

Who do we rent?

What do we pay?

What is too much?

Decisions, decisions…

The deadline is fast approaching and the rumor mill is churning out crap faster than I can read. I am still hearing that Mueller is the top chip teams want in a deal. In fact if poor PM’s name comes up one more time I may scream.

Teams on the bottom rung will be looking to rebuild quick. Muels could be a good anchor piece along with one of our picks and a prospect, there is no denying that. Especially given the way he’s been playing lately… he may not be lighting the board up but he’s chipping in so many other ways you almost HAVE to believe that when he finds his shot again, he’ll be a real steal for his next team.

Either way GMDM has only a few hours left until the freeze and then only a few days after to get something done. I can’t see us standing pat. We appear to be a scorer and a Dman away from a seriously deep post season run. We can absorb a hefty salary or two, we’re one of the few teams with major cap space.

Looking at the chemistry in the room and the total committment Tippett’s system requires every single game, there aren’t that many players that GMDM is going to consider.

Criteria for an offensive rental:

top end scoring for at least 2 years (including this year)

age & money are not objects (since we are only renting)

extra weight given to the right player, if we have the possibility of signing him for the future

Someone like Cullen? or Whitney? Afinogenov?

Criteria for an offensive permanent player:

1 to 2 years left on his contract… under 4M each year

defensively responsible

proven scoring in the past (even if not this year…yet)

some type of relationship with one of the coaching staff or DM himself (gotta know what kinda guy he is, to know if he’ll be a good fit in the room)

young enough to have some life in him (under 32?)

Someone like Weiss or Horton *if Horton wasn’t injured* Jussi Jokinen *if we were’nt allergic to that last name* How bout Peverly, Vermette or Antropov?

Criteria for defensive rental:

Big contributor to the offense (we need scoring in the worst way)

Post season experience (so many of our blueline have none, another steady confident guy will be a definite plus to have)

I wouldn’t mind renting Foster *and trying to sign him after* or even Torres for that matter

Criteria for defensive permanent player:

1 to 2 years left on his contract… under 3.5M each year

some type of relationship with one of the coaching staff or DM himself (gotta know what kinda guy he is, to know if he’ll be a good fit in the room and can he help our youngins grow?)

puck mover (since we are built on speed and dependent on the back end to contribute to scoring chances)

Enstrom and Streit look pretty good for this spot.

I know it doesn’t help figure out who The Don has in his sights but just my few piddly thoughts tonight as the rumors heat up *please stop with the Muels for Cogliano straight up rumors, they hurt my brain* and the deadline draws closer. Guess we’ll see soon enough. Whomever we grab, welcome to the desert. Whom ever we lose, we will miss and wish them only the best in their new home.

Get well soon Scottie!

As always… Go Coyotes!