Cause apparently I’m psycho.. psychic.

Lombo, Upshall and Doan! On fire and totally dominating. If that keeps up, the Western conference is in biiiig trouble.

Just gonna throw out some random thoughts cuz…well I’m so juiced up right now, sleep is going to be impossible and coherent thought is totally out of the question.

We won tonight, taking the series 3 of 4. We smelled desperation and blood on the air and our uber carnivore instincts apparently shifted into high gear.

Hanzal, I salute you. (quick hint… you had him all day til you bent the elbow and let him into reach… thnx DT for pointing that out, I couldn’t see how asshole…Boll got the better of Marty) It took balls and heart to step into that fight. I hope your teammates buy you some liquid anesthetic and give you major love for that. Still wondering why Jovo Oaks didn’t step in and take that one? (Thanks to hockey fights and DTG for pointing out that I had the wrong goober) Skill guys VS goon (Marty AND Verby gettin eff’d over by Boll?) Jovo shoulda been all over that. But Marty has been gaining a set of clankers as he’s taken on AND contained the best the league has to offer. I guess this was the final stage of his evolution into a monster. Don’t worry Marty, word on the street is that chicks dig scars.

WTF were the reffs calling on the Michalek scrum? Seriously, Z goes down hard and those asshats surround him and punch and kick him? Then one pulls him up out of the pile to try to start a fight? And the refs miss all that? They call Z for the boarding but miss 5 jerkwads trying to kill him? *head desk* Yes he laid out a hit that could have been borderline but to completely ignore the afters is just plain mind boggling.

This was perhaps the most complete game the boys have played so far. The big guns were finally blazing full force (10 points for the Lombo combo of Upshall, Doan and Lombardi) the defense was clicking on all cylinders. Even without Fiddy, Winnie was totally focused and making life miserable for the jackasses Jackets. The new boy Bubba didn’t embarrass himself (at 34, Anders isn’t so much of a boy) bt what matters is that he came in and added a helper, which bodes well for the future blueline contributions. Mueller was present and accounted for a few times, a couple of nice shots and a couple that were blocked. (Seriously though Petey, don’t make it so obvious by standing still in our high slot alone you stand out when your man is behind you sneakin in on Bryz and you don’t move too)

And Bryzzie… you played very well dear heart but don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to shoot yourself in the foot playing the puck ala Turdco. Stay in your crease and let the boys do the heavy lifting.

What is with the official stats? Can’t believe they missed that horrendous give away by my boy.

So anyway, it was a great game that had a little bit of everything. Fights, blood, offense, discipline, power plays and one of the most beautiful tic tac toe displays I’ve ever seen with Jovo, Lombo, Uppy and Doan crisscross passing through the Jackets zone 4 on 2 and actually scoring on it! Huzzah! Everybody contributed a little somethin somethin. Brought a tear to my eye.

We are still in 6th place in the West. Only 1 point behind the Kings and the Preds. The view is beautiful from 10th place in the league. We are 8 – 2 for our last 10 and show no signes of stopping. When has December been this much fun?

So we play tomorrow night. The dirty Ducks come to town fresh off a win against the Avs. (thanks for slowing COL down for us Quackers) we need to win this one cleanly. The Ducks seem to be gettin their poop in a group so we’re in for a battle as usual.

Keys to the game?

Well we tried shellin Hiller into extinction which didn’t work out so well. Its time to break out the garbage goals I guess. We saw a bit of Jovo in front of Garron last night, maybe between his big rump and Bubba’s we can screen Hiller long enough to grab a couple of goals. Pruu! the other boys have turned it on, maybe you can give us one of your crazy aerobatic performances? Its even better than garbage goals watchin Prucha break dance thru the crease with the puck on his stick (or behind the opponent’s goalie). Whichever way we gotta do it, its time to get creative, that is one hot goalie.

Stay focused and disciplined. We may be the only team that can beat the Ducks at taking penalties. Bobby Ryan will make us regret every one (if Getzlaf and Perry don’t beat him to it). Play your position, waltz with your man if thats the only way you can keep up with him (or hug him or tell him to say hi to his sister for you, whatever it takes) just don’t get caught out and then try to make it all better by hacking at him.

This is a division rival known for comebacks. Do NOT give them any opportunities to be IN this game. Containment, containment, containment.

I guess Fiddy is still questionable and Marty may be feelin some serious after affects so we’re gonna get to possibly see Porter who was called up today. He’s old enough to fit Tippett’s preferred player profile. Hopefully he can shine tomorrow night and get to stick around for a bit.

Hunker down dawgs! Lets keep that home record win stat climbing. (we’re 13-5-0 at home) Puck drops at 7pm, hope to see you there.

Positive press? from TSN no less. Power rankings are often silly and inconsequential and obvious but its nice to be given credit finally.

Ambassador’s club discounted tickets available! Go buy some so I can beat Marc please.

As always… GO COYOTES!

We’ve got some Jackets coming into town that need to be hung out to dry.

Hoo boy! We’ve won 2 of the 3 and really, really need to take this one. Keeping Columbus down is not the issue, we can’t look behind us, we have to focus hard on climbing over bodies in front of us, Columbus’ 2 points provides a great step towards that goal. It wont kill us if we slip this one but with Ducks and Kings AND Sharks ahead of us, this game has to be won ( that old saying about winning the games that we should, becomes paramount here). 4 conference opponents and the Sharks twice is plain old ugly. THOSE are must win games, this one is a ’should’ that places us in a position of strength to finish the year end strong. If we win this one, losing one of the other less sure thing games, won’t hurt as much. We can’t overlook these guys by any means. But its time to step it up a notch. This is when the ‘real’ teams ramp up to become contenders. If you have that extra gear, this is the beginning of the shifting. Its almost the halfway mark and if we’re going to be competitors this game should mark our line in the sand.

So what is is going to take to make our statement?

Man Down - We’ve got to throw lazy, undisciplined play out the window. We cannot continue to give our opponents uneccessary chances to score. We are equal to anyone 5 on 5.  Our PK has been through the fire enough. Its time to stop wearing them out. It hampers us in untold ways when our blue line can’t contribute offensively because they have been at a disadvantage for a quarter of a game, night after night. Positioning, grit and cool heads have to prevail each and every game going forward. Play it simple and smart and don’t get caught out, we can’t afford to keep playing from behind.

Man Advantage - do we even know what that means? Its high time we learned. Our PP is all strum und drang. We look good, get good chances but rarely bury them. The NHL is a crap shoot if your special teams suck. Our PP officially sucks in that it is never there when it really counts. This has to stop, right now. When we’re given such an opportunity, we have to find some urgency. We have to have net presence. We have to become dangerous.

Offensively - Committee scoring is fine but its time for the offense to step up. Doaner has to wake up (don’t get me wrong, his contributions have been fantastic) but his mad bull, score at all cost personae has to make an appearance now. This team has been successful following his all heart performances. He has to bring that back. Vrbata is warming up finally (he’s shooting like crazy already) but he has to start burying more of them because 1 -2 goal wins are not going to get the job done going forward. Lombardi and Prucha came in at the end of last season and along with Upshall, delivered hope inducing performances. We need them to give us the heart, the speed, the never-say-die mentality and energy that we know they can. If these 3 can find that mindset again, there is no way we can be stopped from grabbing a playoff berth. Winnik, Fiddler and Pyatt have to remain dangerous. After the crazy Czech Federation, they are the most solid and dependable scoring and containment unit we’ve got.

Defensively - How in the hell does Keith Yandle lead the blueliners in points? Confidence, willingness to take a risk and the ability to learn to step outside his comfort zone, thats how. I was never a fan, the kid was giving me palpitations (and I still wish he’d stop crossin his crease on his rushes). Keith Yandle is an example for Aucoin and Jovanovski to follow. Calculated risks, balls and accountability from these big guns HAS to come to the surface going forward. They have the most experience and they should be digging down deep to be the warrior leaders, not be led by the child prodigy. Z has his hands full, pulling the most minutes of TOI at nearly 30 per game. Playing 2nd goalie, the foundation for the #1 pairing and of course PKing for all he’s worth, he’s not going to be scoring the kinds of goals we need from the back end so its going to be up to the big 3. Until Sauer is able to come back the other 2 spots are going to be rookies Lepisto and possibly alternated between  David Schlemko (who has done an admirable job) and the new kid we just called up Anders Eriksson. I’m betting Tippett is looking for another offensive minded contributor that can be brought along quickly. This is not exactly the time to experiment but we need to get as much firepower on our backend as possible, better to know now if we have it (while there is still time to go out and trade for it or buy it somewhere).

Goaltending - I still don’t think Labarbra is the answer for when we need to rest Bryz. I hope beyond all hope that Maloney and Tippett are putting their heads together to get us a better option. With Montoya in a sling, we’ll have to go outside the organization to get this done. I have never stopped believing in the magic within Ilya Bryzgalov. I just don’t want to ride him til he drops. We’re gonna need every last ounce of #1 goalie out of him in the stretch.

These things are nothing new but this season we are as complete as we have ever been. This is the season that I believe tweaking may be the difference between playoffs and an early tee time. You may have noticed that I don’t have Mueller listed as one of the crucial cogs in this effort. You have to give up something to get a good return and it just may be that PM needs a change to get his groove back and he would certainly be an excellent starting point in talking offensive trade with another team. (Just my personal opinion at this point unless he proves me wrong by finding that switch inside him).

But first we have to take the Jackets to the cleaners.

Keys to the game?

Continue to contain Rick Nash. No one can give the Jackets the will to live like this kid. We can’t afford to let them have any life. Crush them early by making Nash invisible. Don’t get out of position, don’t let him cross the neutral unmolested. Play him close and do NOT let him have any room.

Goalie Steve Mason continues to struggle hot and cold. Mostly due to a lack of major defensive help. But do not doubt that this goalie can get hot. We have to make sure the percentages fall on our side. Shots from everywhere could shake this guy enough to give us the edge. But it has to be all 60 minutes of raining rubber. Do not let him get his feet under him or he could make us sorry. Chase him out of the net like Colorado just did by shaking him early and often. According to other previews we may see Garon again (I wouldn’t blame Hitch if he did this) Garron played us tight last game but the same principles apply. This is not rocket science. Shake the goalie, take the game.

Take control early. Play full throttle all 60 minutes. Play the damn system with discipline and guts.

Puck drops at 7PM. Hope to see you all there.

As always… GO COYOTES!

The boys are on the road still. Don’t these road trips feel like they take forever? Wish they could play all their games at home but when they’ve grabbed 4 of the 8 possible road points I guess it isn’t too bad.

Wings - wounded and with suckage in their net, the Ded managed to do their best zombie imitation and and kept coming at us. Our Captain added to their walking wounded count by taking poor Ericksson out of the game. We didn’t look so hot. Bryz was even ice cold for once and with a final score of 2 – 3 not in a good way, I think Breezy would like a mulligan on a couple of those goals. We didn’t play bad per se, just not our usual vim and vigor. Lucky for the Wings that their role players stepped it up a bunch of notches, unlucky for us, I think for once in this reality the boys were looking past the Ded Thangs to the next game. Bad dawgs! Thats one of the hazards of taking them behind the woodshed, we forgot just how resilient those Motorcity Monsters can be. We leave Detroit with no points except the ones Tippett probably made over and over in the next hours while they traveled to Toronto.

Leafs - The storied franchise had fallen onto hard times recently but were making a serious bid for a good season. Young Kessel seems to be thriving there (betcha he don’t miss Boston one bit) He’s dragging the Leafs, kicking and screaming into the playoff hunt. Sorry to put a crimp in their mini-streak but we walked into the legendary Air Canada Center and kicked some serious Maple hiney. Petr Prucha led the way with 2 goals and someone convinced Yands that he was a Czech (Yands and Hanzal tallied 3 assists each). The Y’s got in on the action too with Fiddy, Vrby and Uppy grabbin goals of their own. Talk about a sweet win, Bish sat 8 games but Tip put him in for energy (that old softie put him in so his daddy could see him play in the NHL for the first time too) Bissionette would not only put on a show for his pops, he would score the GWG for that extra soupcon of coolness. 6 – 3 Yotes 2 points and out to Columbus and that pain in the ass Rick Nash.

Jackets - These guys just wont go away. Did I mention that Rick Nash is a serious pain in the patoot?  Yands was still hypnotised believin he is one of the Czech Federation and lit the lamp waay early in the first. I thought we’d be scorin up a storm after that but the only other regulation goal would be from that stinkin Nash kid in the third. AZBarbie! whoa whodathunkit? Jason the Barbarian was in rare form. He’s still a big old slow flapper for the most part but he looked fairly solid after a shaky start (the guy hasn’t played since Moses was in short pants (well since Nov 16th and thats gotta feel like forever to a hockey player). After the initial howl of dismay I settled down and actually watched him and he wasn’t too bad out there. Havin Z play 2nd goalie for 30 minutes probably helped alot. My lil Iron Czech took a high stick from that schlub Huselius (I’ve got a beatin with that boy’s name all over it waiting for Monday night) But no matter everyone survived to head into OT. OT was polished off with not even a burp. Neither team was able to generate more than a few belly scratchers.

We head into the shootout, I didn’t miss Muells all game til the shoot out. I like havin sharp shooters for these skills contests and Muells can sure snipe with the best of them. So instead we went with Vrby, Doaner and Langer. Vrbata’s magic didn’t quite pan out but Doan kept us in it long enough for Lang to put it to bed. Hey! whaddayaknow 4 points out of 6 for the road trip! suhweet!

Even better… our magnificent Captain got a win in his 1000th game! WTG Shane, you make me proud to be a Yotes fan. Solid hard working Doan became only the 2nd player in the franchise to make 1000 games (Teppo was the other one) thats what I call good company to be in.

Ducks got next… and I hope we make ‘em wish they hadn’t. The boys are in Anaheim already, enjoying a day off and preppin to imbibe some Duck soup. Its a matinee puck drop at 2PM. It is gonna be a good one… if you have Center Ice, you’ll even get to see it. Luckily for me I am pet sitting for peeps that have a CI package. (Thnx Q!)

Keys to the game?

Bring some energy, its gonna be ugly. The Ducks are so far down in the standings right now that Carlyle has to be thankful for a floor. The Quacks have been playing better of late though. Hampered by the loss of Selanne, the rest of the crew have been picking up the slack. I think we’re about to see the return of the dirty Ducks. There will be lots of the physical so be prepared to take a hit (hint: do not expect the refs to call the penalties, just pick yourself up and go score) Even their media is getting in on the desperation. Thhis isn’t only about 2 points, these guys are in trouble and they are gonna take it out on us if we aren’t fast enough to avoid it.

Hiller is a stingy bastard. Shoot early and often. Get up close and personal…especially you Bish, park that hiney right in front of him every chance you get. Hilly has a good record against us. We’re starting to get everyone’s attention so don’t count on seeing their back up goalie Jiggy.

Play hard, play all 60 minutes. Go into this one like someone called your mama bad names. If you take your foot off the pedal for even a nano second these Ducks will be stickin a fork in you instead of vice versa.

Other stuff:

Almost FREE TICKETS!!! good lookin out for the deals ladies! via theYotesDiva and BabyKate – ATTN Coyotes fans! Buy (4) 8-packs of Pepsi @ Circle K, get 2 lower level seats to a Yotes game in Dec or Jan. Spread the word!

For those who can’t make it to Circle K, there’s always online through the Ambassador’s Club.

Saturday against the Kings we’re gonna have a 1k celebration before the game, honoring our Captain.

Last round of the Arena poll is still going. Get over there and let the writers know what you think about their blogs.

Just some food for thought: 5th in the West and 7th in the league. Our boys sit just 3 points behind the Pacific leaders (LAK and SJS if you didn’t know). We need to welcome them home like the warriors they have proven to be… get a ticket! Its Columbus and that damn Nash kid again so it oughta be a doozy.

Time for bed, have a great weekend and hope to see you out at the Jobarena on Monday.

As always… GO COYOTES!

Its been a hellofa week. The new job is fantastico! One of my new team members is a STH Yotes fanatic! whoo hoo!  The new grandbaby is beautiful and healthy! My hockey team is kickin ass and not bothering with names! The site got a facelift and is absolutely awesome! (thank you Hat Trick Hound, every season you manage to make the Check exciting)

Soooo since I last talked to you peeps the courts and Moyes and the NHL have reached an agreement. Probably as early as tomorrow but no later than Friday, the NHL will be the official owners of the Coyotes. The last Monday’s court session turned from a status update to a deal making session. Everyone (while not exactly happy) came to a consensus and since WG decided not to oppose the agreements reached by Friday’s deadline, it is all but in the can. The NHL isn’t going to jump into bed with just any old owner either. They are letting potential buyers kick the tires a bit. The Argonaut guys have decided not to throw their lot in with Ice Edge Holdings and to throw theirs hats in the ring solo. Ice Edge has been diligently working to get their tentative agreement with the CoG solidified and appear ready to rock n roll. No one has ‘officially’ heard from Glendale Hockey, LLC but its those quiet ones that sneak up on ya so be prepared to be surprised by Jerry Reinsdorf and perhaps one other undisclosed local buyer.

We faced the Kings last Saturday before heading out on the road. It wasn’t pretty. We lost focus and there were some guys who forgot that they had to do their part for the pack to be successful in their hunt for 2 points. We trade wins with the Kings way too often. Its not to say that the Kings aren’t a good team but we know them well enough to take 2 points from them every joust. They are also a team on the rise and are nipping at our heels waay to closely to let them grab ANY points, especially in our own barn. The 3 -5 loss hurt but taught a few guys a couple of valuable lessons. Coach Tippett doesn’t allow anybody to stay on his ice without producing their best game. Take too many penalties or miss too many defensive assignments and find your ass parked for real.

We hit the road to the big apple and got our hats handed to us by the NYRangers. We wandered around the ice lookin like rubes from the sticks and the Rangers took advantage of our hick behavior with 2 goals in the first and 2 more in the second. We managed to find our feet a little bit in the second and fought back with our own 2 goals. We got in range but couldn’t completely fight our way out of the hole we dug. Even our own former pocket rocket Enver Lisin put the boots to us with one of his pretty goals (thankfully not one of those highlight markers). The 2 – 5 loss cemented the coaching staff’s apparent philosophy in the minds of the players ‘We don’t need the heroics of one member, nor extraordinary measures every night, what we need consistently is YOUR best, each and every time you step on the ice. No excuses, no exceptions.’

By the time we hit Columbus, the message had hit home. The Pack was back. Marty, Vandy and Z all brought a lil offense to the party. (all 3 notched their first markers of 09)  Jovocop appears to be stayin, consistently bringing a solid offense as well as being able to cover his own end without the Yotes fanbase breaking out into hives when he does make a mistake. (Now if Yands will stop crossin his crease on his breakouts, we might all breath a lil easier all the way around). Scottie Upshall learned the hard way that the new Yotes just don’t do the penalty thang. Gettin your minutes taken away does a lot more than sting, stupid penalties will get you some serious splinters in your breezers. The 4 – 1 routing of the Jackets proved the point… the consistent whole is the only thing that counts, pull your weight!

I don’t think St. Louis was ready to entertain the Pack. They sure as hell weren’t ready for the return of Bryzgalov. The big Russian cemented his team’s belief in him with his 3rd shutout of the season. The 2 – 0 win was the very definition of not having to score a lot when you don’t let the other guys in your kitchen. Guys not noted for their offensive prowess stepped up to take this one for the team. Winnik has been the story of the season for underdogs making a comeback (c’mon, you all thought he was waiver bait after last year) and Pyatt is certainly making up for lost time after being injured for most of the season’s start. Our checking line has turned into a monster with 3 big forwards who can hit you and make you remember it the next day or put a game to bed with a GWG (which you also remember the next day). Either way, you know when you’ve played against the WTF line.

I hope the players were as excited as we were for Halloween. The barn was a bit empty due to all the family oriented outside activities on the night. But those of us who were there certainly made our presence known. We were loud and proud and did not leave disappointed. This 3 – 2 performance was possibly one of the best performances of this young 2009 season. The dirty Ducks were up to their old tricks. Less than 4 minutes into this donnybrook, elder statesman Lang sent a message to Hiller with a beautiful PP wrist shot to start the festivities off. The Ducks didn’t get the message, they just kept coming, scoring a PPG in the second and an even strength goal in the 3rd. It only took 18 seconds for the WTF line to even it back up though and we went into what would be a scoreless OT. The first game back from a road trip is traditionally a pisser to win. But when Wizzer dumped our captain, the Ducks pretty much sealed their own fate. There was no way this side of hell we were puttin up with that shit. Young Yands went after Wisniewski (Kudos to Keith for stickin up for his Apha pack mate) then the rest of the pack went buckwild the rest of the night. There were 3 fights and a whooole lotta jawin, shovin and general mayhem. The Captain decided to send his own message when he got back on the ice goin after Wizzer and showin him the ugly side of Shane Doan. *the shoulder to the head was followed by a nasty forearm and left our Captain woozy as a drunk on a bender* Doan is one of those guys who is hard to knock off their feet much less knock out, Doan responded with lethal force and I don’t think Wiz or any other Duck will take the chance from here on out. The game ended up in a shootout and Vrbie’s sweet backhander would stand as the GWG after 2 posts from Doaner and the Korpedo for our side and a complete stoning of all 3 Ducks by Bryzzie. The win was great and it was also great seeing boxing great Muhommed Ali up in the suites last night.

I don’t know what it will take to get you people to get off your wallets and out to the arena. No more excuses. The NHL has done its part to save your team. The players are doing their part to make the team worth your entertainment dollars. (The Coyotes are 9 – 4 -0 on the hot start, 2nd in the division, 4th in the conference and 5th in the league)You have no excuse if you are any kind of fan of the sport or even a true citizen of Arizona. This is OUR team! But if you don’t get out there and support it, there will be no more hockey in Arizona. I hate to be a bitch about it but seriously? You absentee fans are starting to piss me off. If you just can’t afford it because of the economic times, I can certainly feel your pain, but I see enough of you on the boards and sites spouting off about not wanting to support a team that may be gone in a year or other such nonsense… if you won’t come out to do your part, it is a self fufilling prophecy. Don’t be part of the problem folks… be part of the solution. Tippett says it all the time, be part of the pack, do your best and the rest will fall into place. If you can only make 1 or 2 games so be it, if you can afford a package do it. The team needs you and they need you NOW! Hope to see you all on Monday night for the battle royal against the Kings. Game starts at 7pm.

Welcome to Coyotes Rising … a new member of the Coyotes blogging family! Great reads every week.

Bleedin Teal in AZ has some really great photos up from the home stand!

Remember to check out our featured blogger on the bottom of the front page.

As always… GO COYOTES!

Sorry for the gaps but it has been a hell of a week. Got the new job (thanks to all my hockey family who really, really supported me through my unemployed period of hell). 14 hour days are a biyatch but at least I’m workin eh?

So the Coyotes are officially doing their Blues Brothers imitation? They are on a mission and have no intentions of being stopped. People can laugh all they want but I am getting the feeling that the boys intend to be battling for the cup… not just a spot at the table.

With Tippett and company not accepting any excuses, Coyotes players are digging down deep and finding ways to win, not finding excuses for their losses. The team is manning up in a big way. The 2 losses have been fair and square (although the home opener really pissed me off *no excuse for you either Tip! those lines sucked, if you have a group playing like these boys were on the road, don’t frack with it* )

This season’s wins over the Sharks, Pens and Bruins can’t be simply chalked up as the boys getting up for big opponents. The kids are being prepared the right way for every game. I’ve got a feeling that Steve Peters and crew are in film heaven, as all the coach’s demand training film for every training session (and its actually being used). This team exudes quiet confidence and a certain joie de vive that has not been seen in recent memory.

The staff are calmly directing traffic, correcting errors rather than punishing mistakes. The goalies have a coach with a plan that fits them as individuals ( AZBarbie had the game of his life and Breezy has regained his pre-Coyotes form). Its early days yet but all indications are that Arizona has a hockey team. A REAL HONEST TO GOD hockey team! Go Yotes!

So today’s Paw Prints is a recap of sorts, bear with me as I catch up.

Leaving Pen’s station with the W – whodathunkit? Malkin invisible, Crosby invisible, the Yotes VS the 08 cup champs and coming out on the fun end of a spanking? Un-fricking believable. Way to start shutting up the haterz boys!

Cut to the bone, those backstabbing Sabres stuck it to us. But thats ok, the Pens game made the pain a little easier to take.

Home opener – Columbus! You Party Poopers – the welcome back white out was a huge, fun success…except for the L at the end. Tailgating with the Coyotes Coalition all day and joining the other nutcases for an arena filled with noise and anticipation was awesome. We did lose but damn if it wasn’t the most fun I have ever had enduring a loss. There were soo many retro jerseys and new-to-me faces in the crowd that I completely have faith in a resurgence of hockey fans in the desert. Seriously, a few more wins, a few more above-the-fold positive stories in the Pube and the Coyotes tickets just might become the hot-to-have item in Arizona. *thank god I will now be able to fund mine instead of relying on the kindness of my friends* (thnx Teal/Missconduct and Don) to reamain part of the pack.

On the road again – Sharks 10/12/09. Wow! Just frickin WOW! Nabby VS Breezy, what is the world coming to when Breezy is hangin tough with one of the premiere goalies in the NHL? Another dbl shut out (remember Breezy VS Turco last season?) The feisty Russian is struttin his stuff. With the help of his trusty blueline, Bryz is smothering teams with his pillow imitation (pucks come in but they don’t get out). A 1 – zip shoot out win over the Pacific division’s perrennial champs is a huge statement about the defensive changes ala Tippett. Gotta love this hot start business.

Givin the Blues…the blues – former Coyotes player Tkachuk and co were no match for a Coyotes team on a mission. This was an especially sweet win after last year’s disappointing series (a sweep no less!). This was a monkey off our backs for sure and a great jumping off point to go into the Bruins game. (Good things happen when you crash the net eh Jovo?)I didn’t get to hear the Blues feed, so I missed the Panger’s take, I’m sure it was bitter sweet for him. I miss the little homer.

Boooos abounded as Bruins got taken behind the woodshed… and SPANKED! 4 – 1 final. It was great to see the trim an energetic DMO on the ice (still adore him no matter what uni he wears) and even better to join in on the booing of young Wheeler (I know he did what was best for himself but still feel betrayed so he’ll continue to get the bizzness everytime he hits Arizona ice). Poor Timmy Thomas, looked like he was groin tight all night. Slow lateral movement and stretching everytime there was any time out. We took it to one of the best of the East and it felt damn good.

Next up? 4 days off, lets hope the boys used the time wisely. Pickin up the practice pace on how to score. I don’t mind a 1 -0 W, but it would be nice to get a few more goals per game. (especially right now when the only thing critics can pick on for is low point production) And yes I remember, we only need one if we don’t let the other team score at all LOL With the PK and the EV strength game rollin tight, I’m assuming Tippett and Co will continue to hone those skills but put some extra bite into the PP and Pack scoring (less pretty passing and more sniping).

Power rankings are fun to read when you are one of the top dogs. Even ESPN can’t avoid giving us props.

Redwings arrive tomorrow! Hopefully without the unlucky-for-us #13 on the playing roster. Datsyuk is always a menace we could do without, but didn’t he do this to us last year? Hang out on the DTD list til they came to Phoenix? It will be interesting to see Holmstrom and Aucoin have some serious discussion about Holmie’s butt in Bryzzie’s face. Maybe Ozzie’s struggles in the net will be just what the scoring committe needs to get crackin on those GF stats. Looking forward to this game more than almost any other. Time to build on our Wing singe-ing techniques from last season.

It is howling time in the desert. The boys are doing their part… step up Coyotes fans, old and new. Its GAME ON ARIZONA! They are playin for you.

Great Pics from BTinAZ!

Blues

Jackets

Tailgate

As always… GO COYOTES!

The 2009 home opener has finally arrived. The Yotes are still in Glendale, Arizona. The game is sold out. The Coyotes will never have a better chance to make a good impression on current, former and potential fans. Tonight is a PR dream, a White Out in the Jobing.com Arena! A win tonight would be a hell of a birthday present for Captain Shane Doan (the only player left on the squad who actually has been to a white out before) and a serious reward for all the hardcore fans who have stood by this team through the darkest of days.

Its time for the team and the fans to step up for their part. GMDM made us some pretty big pledges, he’s kept his side of the bargain. The Yotes are off to a great start, sitting 2-1-0 and hoping to mark another W in the stats column. The only way to do that is:

STAY OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX! – cannot stress this enough. Bryzzie can only do so much. Continually taking away his underpinnings will be fatal to our chances. No more stupid penalties, after the whistle antics can kill!

ROCK BOLL’S WORLD IF HE EVEN LOOKS AT A COYOTES PLAYER WRONG – but make sure you take him with you to the box for just as much time as you. We have to start making the statement that we will not be trifled with. Martin Hanzal should not be enforcing anything! A team that has Jovanovski, Vandemeer, Bisionette, Doan and Pyatt has enough disciplinary members to take care of any monkey business.

FIND A WAY AROUND THE JACKETS PK. – these guys are lethal on the kill so far this season, Vest reports that the Jacket kill ratio is 90.9%! Our PP will need to capitalize. Boedker, Upshall and crewmates can draw all the penalties they want with their devastating speed, it won’t mean a thing if we can’t get that swing. Gotta take advantage when it’s presented to us.

GET HOT AND STAY HOT – we’ve had a little rest, time to turn on those after burners. Feed off the crowd, have fun, shoot early and shoot often. Mason is beatable but we’re going to have to shell him like a D day assault squadron. None of this snake bit crap, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try! TRY! again, somethings bound to go in. It is definitely time for some other folks besides Vrbata to kick in a multi goal night (JovoCop? is that you? YO! Adrian! Mueller? Mueller?)

MAKE RICK NASH INVISIBLE – the kid hasn’t made much goal noise yet but we have seen first hand what he can do. He’s already got 4 assists and is a danger every time he hits the ice. Limit his ability to move, crush his ability to make a difference and take away the backbone of the Columbus attack.

We can do this! We’re rested, we’re dangerous in all 3 zones, we’ve got the 6th man advantage and we’ve got a rejuvenated Bryzgalov in net. Let’s Go Coyotes! Get us that home opener win for the 8th season in a row!

Problems and injuries:

Sauer is still having headaches, taking away one of our key defensive weapons. Sami Lepisto is doing an admirable job. Let’s hope that continues tonight.

Prucha update: our crazy Pruuuu!!!! will be re-evaluated before game time. We really need the Czech Federation to be whole and hardy for this one but most of all we just want Pruuu! to be okay.

Taylor Pyatt is skating again but not quite ready to join the squad.

The Coyotes Coalition invites you all to tailgate party with them in Lot J before the game from 1 – 4PM (password to the parking attendants is Save the Coyotes), then the doors will be open and we can all fill the JobArena with joy. Even Eric D applauds this idea as a great idea. HKYFN will be judging the best sign competition after warmups, bring your sign down to the glass (a Doan birthday salutation, a simple welcome home, I <3 Howler) whatever you think you want the boys to know about how you feel.  And of course, the greatest game in the world will start at 6PM. There will be in game contests throughout the night, prizes given away like usual. If you couldn’t get a ticket, McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon in the Westgate City Center, they are hosting a Coyotes Opening Night Viewing Party for you, so come out to the tailgate and head over to McFaddens for the game.

See you there!

Happy Birthday Shane Doan!

As always… 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/

Holy Hannah! Niiice win! Made my Thanksgiving day start a LOT happier.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Hope all of you,your family and friends are all safe and happy. Wishing you all good food, much laughter and happiness!

We continue to own the Columbus BlueJackets. By the skin of our teeth and on the backs of Tellqvist and Michalek this time. Z turned in perhaps the most phenomenal performance of the season so far. Notching 27+ minutes of sacrificing defense adding 3 more blocks to raise his total to 68!

Michalek on the Job

Mikael Tellqvist stole us a game. The Swedish Wolf did everything but turn himself inside out in this game. At times it seemed like he and Huselious were having a 2 man showdown… Hussy blinked more often than Telly. If not for Telly, this was an easy 8 -3 Jax game. Seriously! the guy played like his life depended on it. 38 saves! You go boy! Make Bryz fight to get back in the net.

Not today Jackets, Not Today

There were some blockbuster moments. DHL finally delivered! David Hale with his first NHL GOAL! DHL tied the game up and got us rollin. Perfect time for such a great milestone. KT’s pass was right on the money and Hale put it to bed like he’d done it a dozen times b4.

DHL, he delivers!

DC picked up the second part of a possible Howe Hattie. After taking Jacket cruiserweight, Dorsett out behind the woodshed early in the first, Danny proceeded to notch another marker giving us the lead and setting the Jackets on their heels for the first time in the game.Beautimous deflection from the Yandle shot! Just Beautimous! Late in the third after what seemed like a bazillion shots from the Jax, Viktor Tikhnov did the GWG thang with an awesomely patient, scorers goal to give us the lead again and then it was all survival mode as the defense and Tellqvist shut the doors on the Jacket’s hopes.

Not to say we ran this game by any means. The Jackets worked us over pretty good all game.Former Yotes came back to haunt us with Huselious scoring a beauty of a breakaway in the first, blasting one past Telly. And then in the first minute of the third Jason Chimera gave us fits by tying the score on a pretty good feed from RJ Umbereger. I have to give it to the Jax, this was a hard fought contest.

Notable things… when we come to play, we win. It seems like we got all the tools, we just don’t always have the will. Hopefully that will come to a screeching halt now. Gretzky has finally taken a good look at giving Jovanovski all that free PP time (JV only played 16+ min…he was only on the ice for a few seconds during that critical 2 minutes of kill time at the end of the third!) Big Ed came to life tonight w/ 2 assists and was moving like a real NHL defenseman for most of the night. (so no tryke pic on the next GDT) Fridge and Ports may have appeared to be having quiet games but take a look at their hit stats! Fridge w/ 6 and Ports w/ 5! Apparently we need another day of face off practice! 40%… sighhh Is there anyway we can entice No Panic Yannik to be a special team coach?

We lost the Joker tonight to a possible shoulder injury. After 397 consecutive games, Joker joins another iron man DMo on the injury list. Olli Coyote will probably miss a couple. No definitive word yet.
http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=394738

So anyways… a glorious turkey day win. The boys come home for the Friday matinee match against the Avalanche. Come join us in Lot J for a welcome home tailgate starting at 11. We’ll be celebrating the return of one of the Coyotes biggest fans Sgt. V and of course the return of our very own MIBs as the Yoties will be rockin the new black 3rd jerseys for the first time.http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&gameNumber=313&season=20082009&gameType=2

We need a win… a BIG win! A squeaker will definitely help but a serious barn burner, high scoring or shut out, either one would boost the kids confidence to no end. We need something to shake us up, to get us into a new head space. A winner’s mentality if you will.

We’re headed for the longest losing streak in over 9 years! Oh yeh you read that right… 9 YEARS! Never saw that coming with this incarnation of the Desert Dawgs. Adding Jokinen, the surprising performance of our additions to the blueline, the sweet potential of our new rookies all pointed to a hot season… probably a roller coaster ride but a real shot at hangin tough and battling for a shot at a playoff berth.

We started out fairly well, hung out around the .500 mark for a month and then lost our way. The Jackets are blowin hot n cold too sittin on a record of 9-8-3 VS our 8-10-2 but we’ve met twice so far and the boys rocked the Jax 3-1 and 5-2… this game may be just what we need to get back in the W saddle.

The Jacket’s lineup looks like this according to the locals

Huselius-Brassard-Nash
Modin-Umberger-Voracek
Chimera-Malhotra-Boll
Torres-Peca-Dorsett

Commodore-Hejda
Tyutin-Methot
Backman-Tollefsen

Mason in net

We look like this according to the Yotes site:

well hell… its easier to just say the scratches tonight should be McGrattan, Murray and DMo rather than pretending that any line announcements are going to last beyond the first shift. Tellqvist will be in goal though.

Hopefully the boys (Carcillo, Boedker, Lisin and Joker especially) can work as hard as they did in the NYR game.. umm with better reults though. Hey fellas! You wanna borrow my scope to take a better bead on Mason?

Good luck and bring us home a W!

oh and as added incentive to a certain blueline blunder… here is your pic of shame which you will be noted by every single GDT until you start producing…

Graphix brought to us by the letters O and Q from the forum

Ok, Rick McNashsty and his boys are guarding their town.They are bringin a 3 game winning streak to the table. It will get ugly. After taking down the Oil, Montreal and the Flames, these boys think they are rollin deep and dirty. Our earlier season trouncing won’t mean squat to them except extra motivation to kick our asses. They’ll be lookin for another highlight reel, we’ll be looking for a 3 game streak of our own.

All the pieces will be in place that whipped them the first time, but with a twist. Ken Klee (if healthy) to compliment the suddenly revamped Yandle and the even nastier version of Bryzgalov 3.0(who has been absolutely bone deep in top goalie head space lately). Carcillo has had his leash loosened and the addition of Garth Murray means that Dorsett and Boll had better be very careful who they decide to run tonight.Peca is back, Malhotra is still one to watch out for and the #2 line could be very, very dangerous.

All of our rookies have wet their whistles w/ at least a goal pretty early in their first season and Mikkel Boedker is looking like a seasoned vet out there (absolutely rock solid), DC may be teaming up w/ Rhino, who has been dishing out spectacular passes to those who haven’t gotten their goal on yet… look for DC to light the lamp tonight and Yandle shows no signs of slowin his roll so secondary scoring is covered. The Chalupa line of Doan, Jokinen and Mueller have been raising the roof on the Job lately, which means we should see some monster primary scoring too.

According to Puck Raker’s we might be seeing these lines out of Tuesday’s practice.
Huselius-Umberger-Nash
Chimera-Brassard-Voracek
Torres-Peca-Modin
Murray-Malhotra-Boll

Commodore-Hejda
Tyutin-Methot
Backman-Tollefsen

Steve Mason

We’ll probably roll something very similiar to these lines… unless well Wayne decides to do his juggle thang:
Daniel Winnik-Garth Murray-Viktor Tikhonov
Shane Doan-Olli Jokinen-Peter Mueller
Kyle Turris-Steven Reinprecht-Daniel Carcillo
Todd Fedoruk-Martin Hanzal-Mikkel Boedker

Derek Morris-Kurt Sauer
Ed Jovanovski-Zbynek Michalek
Keith Yandle-Ken Klee* (if healthy)

Ilya Bryzgalov

EDIT* practice Wenesday the lines looked like this:

Kevin Porter-Martin Hanzal-Mikkel Boedker
Steven Reinprecht-Kyle Turris-Shane Doan
Todd Fedoruk-Olli Jokinen-Peter Mueller
Daniel Winnik-Garth Murray-Viktor Tikhonov

no Carcillo? hmmm, is DC paying his penance for the PIM fest in the Shark’s game? or is it just maybe his turn in the box? UH OH! or maybe something more ominous… an injured DC

The keys to this game are going to be

Stay the hell outta the box! (ummm DC? DC? are you listening to me?) We absolutely have to get a clean jump on these boys or we will be battling ugly all night.

Contain the Nasher. This boy not only CAN burn you, he WILL burn you. And usually its a guaranteed web broadcast replay nightmare. Hanzal, Z and Sauer better be on their A games (again) and Bods is about the only one with enough speed/strength to consistenly ride herd on the boy comin through the neutral if he hits his stride.

Shoot like its the last game of your career and you need 1 goal to get to the hall of fame. New goalie Steve Mason has been playing like a thief. Do NOT take him lightly, we have given more new goalies their 1st career shut outs than I care to think about. Shell him, early and often.

It would be nice to start this one ahead but since we’ve proven that we can come from behind,I won’t get too bent if the Jackets draw first blood. But we better draw the most…
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but traveling down to Minny with a 3 game streak in our pocket is just what the doctor ordered as far as confidence for the youngins and Breezy.

http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/11/11/jackets_notes11.ART0_ART_11-11-08_C5_KOBRSJK.html?sid=101

http://bluejacketsxtra.sportsdirectinc.com/hockey/nhl-matchups.aspx?page=/data/NHL/matchups/g2_summary_10.html

http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?gameNumber=224&gameType=2&page=Preview&season=20082009&service=page

GDT logo is from CoyoteQ – davidaebischer.net