Told ya we were gonna be doin this a little different. Some of the guests had a whole scenario all fleshed out, some just provided a basic outline. So, since the puck drops on out very first NHL regular game of 2008 tomorrow I figured I better blend this one up since Saturday will be our very first GDT of 2008.

HatTrickHound Reports from the soon-to-be-active Diggin in the Corners blog (as soon as I can talk him into regular posts! he’s so good at it we gotta get him active):

HT here with my keys to the season, predictions and where we fit in the post season race.

Keys:
Offense/Bryz carry the team early - the restructed defense will take time to find cohesion and in a very tough Western Conference the Coyotes cannot afford to drop early games and expect to chase teams down throughout the season. The offense needs to come out firing that puck and Bryz needs to be the all world stopper that he’s previously proven he can be and not allow any of those early “soft” goals to slide into the net. As the season wears on, everything will come together as a team, but I believe early in the season (first 10-20 games) that the offense and Bryz need to come out on fire and carry the team early.

“Dirty” goals - goals coming from a “hard hat” type of effort, or from doing the “dirty work” in front of the net and in the corners I believe will be another key to the season. Having some of those big tenacious bodies parked in front of the net, all of our young talent needs to fire away at the net and hope for a ricochet or rebound goal. There can’t be the sitting back and waiting for that “perfect” pass or “perfect” lane to shoot the puck through, fire away and then grind out that “dirty” goal whacking away in front of the net. Rookies will struggle at points throughout a long season, that beautiful “perfect” play will not always be there, they (and the vets as well) need to be willing to shoot the puck and bang home a rebound… grind out a goal… clean up the trash in front of the net… whatever other team you wanna use to take those lose pucks in and around the crease and just get them in the dang net!

Secondary scoring from talent rich team - we’ve all heard how much talent there is on this team. In fact, since I moved here and started watching the Coyotes in the 98-99 season, I believe this is the most talented team, top to bottom, that the Coyotes have had since they’ve been in the valley. I know, I know, teams back then had Tkachuk.. Roenick.. Tocchet.. Teppo.. Drake and Coyote Cubs Doan and Briere.. and they were a lot of fun to watch. I still don’t know that I’ve seen a better player with his back to the net banging in those “dirty” goals then watching Tkachuk back in the day. The thing is, those teams didn’t have scoring talent as deep as this team does going into this season. Between injuries and just plain ol’ inefficiency, they just didn’t have the punch after that first line, line and a half.

This season there is potential to have Carcillo, a potentially 30 goal scorer per Gretzky, as a third liner (at least via the depth chart online at the moment). There could be Hobey Baker award winner Kevin Porter be on a third or fourth line, this is a guy who scored 63 points in 43 games last season and is tough at both ends of the ice. Yes, some of this maybe a bit of the offseason Coyote koolaid talking, but I think there is a ton of talent throughout the entire line-up and we need them all to chip in from time to time. The Big 3 can’t do it alone and finding some scoring balance throughout the line-up will be a key all season long.

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This will be a little different as far as Preseason reviews are concerned. I have invited several guests to voice their opinion on the state of the Coyotes for 2008. We may all have differing opinions on HOW we’re getting to the post season but we have 1 thing in common… we’re going there!TheBadOne from thefanster.com forum, OdinMercer from the soon-to-arrive ‘Howlin from the Cheap Seats’ blog on SBNation, our beloved HatTrickHound and of course me, Onyx aka Z4dfense. We’re going to cover the past, the journey, the evolution and the possible future that begins on Saturday with our first game of the 2008 season. Enjoy the ride.

TheBadOne says:

The Phoenix Coyotes are something of an enigma as far as hockey teams are considered. After moving to the desert from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 hockey season, the team managed to make the post-season only twice and went virtually ignored by the hockey community at large (save whenever someone discusses which franchises should move back to Canada or be contracted.) Yet the 2007-08 season saw a resurgence in the team and saw them take a few leapfrogs back to respectability. As the 2008-09 season rolls around, people are starting to take notice of the first relevant Coyotes team to take the ice in roughly 6 years.

So what happened? At the start of the previous season the team was composed largely of rookies, waiver-wire castoffs, and fringe players to complement their less than ample amount of proven veterans. However, an early Christmas gift in mid-November saw Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov sent to the Coyotes via the waiver wire. His early success opened the door for other talent on the team to shine through. Rookies Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal, and Dan Carcillo were being noticed in hockey circles outside of Phoenix, while veterans Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski were having career seasons in spite of expectations to finish in the cellar of their conference. While the team wasn’t necessarily playoff ready, they understood that for the first time in a long time, they had the tools necessary to become a competitive team in the NHL.

As we enter the new season, expectations are on the rise for the Coyotes. There are some new faces joining the team this time around, while the ones that took off don’t seem to be missed as much as they would’ve a few seasons back. Nevertheless, for this team to succeed, everyone on the squad will have to compete with relentless intensity against their well-established rivals. The rise or fall of this squad will rest of the shoulders of a few. Yet if they can work as a cohesive unit, they may surprise themselves and the league around them:

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Goalies

BRZ
Telly
(Montoya will have to prove he’s goalie enough to manhandle the AHL before he can steal Telly’s spot and if they are really expecting Ilya to be a 60+ game workhorse, it does no good to Monty or Tordjy’s development to sit every night waiting for Breezy to let them get a game)

It has been said that Gistedt will be coming over in the summer *Gee is stuck behind a hot goalie in Europe and isn’t getting much development time there… does the 3 headed goalie monster rear its ugly head in Phoenix again? or is there a trade brewing? or are the Sundogs going to get a superior goalie who needs some playing time? scary thought is McVicar just picked up the President’s trophy down there so the playing time might be a wee bit limited there too* Although Gee is over 20, he still might be subject to IIHF rules that prevent him from staying in NAmerica at the minor league level… need some clarification on that I guess. Anyone?

DEFENSEMEN
Jovo
Morris
Ballard
Michalek
Boynton (unless some team makes GMDM an offer he would be dumb to refuse… Nick still has a lot of life and leadership left in him)
??? new kid = Ahnelov (from Sweden) or if we get one of Bogosian or Schenn they could just be NHL ready and take this spot since neither Jones (not enough offense) or Yandle (not enough defense) grabbed the job and made it their spot.

*Rumor control has been busy placing Redden on the team - do we run 6 top quality Dmen and let the baby Dmen mature in the A? do we upgrade our 5th man slot (someone will have to leave) and still run baby D in the 6th spot? or is this a vicious lie created to make us insane over the summer?*

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Everyone knows how important this game is to both teams. We are both battling for the same rung. VAN got smacked by the Ducks last night and still sit at 80 points. We whipped the Ducks on Tuesday and sit at 75 points. How huge is this game? Think Godzilla of the season. If we can move within 1 of NSH and within 3 of VAN we are going to be in prime position for a hard push to that 8th or even that 7th spot (MIN has hit a bit of a rough patch lately).

Keys to this game?

Discipline! The Canuckleheads have been involved in about 9 or so brawls this season. We can’t get drawn in by their antics. If we gotta chuck ‘em let’s make sure we pick our battles carefully. Wellie and Carci need to watch their backs. (Carci! if it’s Bieksa… let Wellie handle it please!) NickyBoy, keep a lid on it, we need some of those big hits of yours tonight and some further exhibits of excellent pinching.

Special teams! will be invaluable in this one. We need to be creative and patient on the PP …. and I’ve said it multiple times… defensively aware! Our shortie against record is abysmal. We have to stop handing these opponents free shots at our goalies from our slovenly PP maneuvers. The PKers better be really sharp tonight… got a feeling they are gonna get a LOT of work. This team gets chippy rather quickly and we have a tendency to fall short in the critical last minutes of periods.

Net minders! no matter who is in, I have faith. But seriously, Breezy, can we just pretend on that softy? I mean, just pretend you let it in and DON’T. That way you can just have that spectacularly tight game, all game, instead of being brilliant right after the ugly one gets by you. In this game 1 goal may just be enough, so just say NO to softies.

Essentials! Another big night from the blueline and the BigKidz is essential. A few blueline canons would be sweet but I will settle for the BigKidz shutting down those geeky assed twins and the blueline to get the puck outta our freakin zone when it counts.

Yandle… for the sake of my bleeding eyes please, if you get scared, nervous, panicked, whatever, do NOT put another damn pass accross your own crease, for the love of god, bounce a board or behind the net but NOT 2 feet in front of the damn goalie! (rookie mistake my ass people, he’s made that blunder enough times to know better by now).

This is THE night… if the big guns can’t get rollin for this one I will be severely disappointed. Vbrat has broken his cold streak with that SO goal, hopefully the kid has a hot streak comin on, he does seem to score in bunches. Donor is back, second game in which we’ve seen Capt Clutch get his crazy on. (bajeebus! does the guy have a shot or what?) Rhino? Rhino? hellooooo? Step up! want the puck! (Show us some more of that crafty face off, shifty crash the net, elder statesman magic, you keep tantalising us with).

If the big guns (Hi Peter!) can keep us on the board with an answer to what the Nucks manage to get past Bryz! the rest of the committee is more than capable of getting the insurance. (Hi Enver! I got a feelin … tonight is your night lil guy!)  But it all has to start with the big boys leading the charge. ummm and I sure as hell don’t mind playing with a lead all game… as long as we keep our foot on the gas all 60 minutes.

LET’S GO COYOTES!!!!!

onystarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Epic battle begins today.The Blues have been no slouch lately. Despite sliding a bit behind us in the race for 8th, the Blues are holding steady… pacing themselves right behind us at a respectable 66 points and #12 position.Although we are 7 of 8 against these guys this season (including preseason) don’t make the mistake of thinking this will be an easy 2 points. Boyes, Kariya and AndyMac are racking up points and Legace (although shaky in his last outing and having his traditional Coyote woes) is no slouch between the pipes. The Blues are getting some interesting secondary scoring from Perron, Walker, Stempniak and Jackman. They have lost the last 2 contest on this road trip to the Ducks and Kings and much like us, seem to do well against the big opponents and squeak a point or lose to the teams they should beat with authority.

Wake up snipers! Its time to put the hard hats on and take care of business from here on out. This is the stretch guys…in case you didn’t notice. Men become boys or learn to play golf w/ the old men early. So put away the PS3s and get your tookis’ in gear my babies. It’s clobberin time! Shell early, shell often and let’s get our eyes back on the prize please.Go Dawgs! Go get us 2 points!onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com
 

Well at least for this I can be positive maybe even upbeat.

So far we have the team from Colorado on the rocks. 3 times we have managed to take the 2 points and run. But Friday night will be a test. Smyttie, Small Paul and maybe even Joltin Joe may be back in the line ups for the AVs. The team has managed to hang tough despite having Smyth, Sakic and Stasny out of the line up at the same time. Key games from stalwart secondary players has kept them in the hunt. The middle of February has not been kind to the Avs (they are on a nasty 5 game slide). Look for the renewed vigor that having Stas back will bring and if Sakic decides he’s ready it will be a real dogfight.

Both teams are very evenly matched. Sitting 9th and 10th in the conference and 4th in their respective divisions. While the Avs struggle on the road the Yotes are struggling about the same at home so no clear advantage for either team in this tilt. GF% are Yotes=17th and AVs=18th but the Yotes have a slight advantage w/ better %’s in GA, PP and PK numbers.

Vbrat and Rhino (both former AVs) have led the battle in the previous outings and hopefully the Avalanche won’t be able to contain da Brat again in this joust. Talk about former players coming back to bite you in the keister! DMo was also an AV and has been plenty destructive to their top line. Vbrat has five goals, an assist and a shootout point in our 3 wins AND even scored in overtime during the last contest. While Rhino has 4 goals and 2 assists on the series so far including a hattie night.

We are about 5-for-14 on the power play against these guys and that may very well be the difference in this game. This is the last contest between the two for 07-08 and in order NOT to jinx us I will simply say… there is a possibility that brooms may be needed after this game, which has not been done since the 90-91 season, when both teams were still Canadian based.

Do I really need to say this? Discipline! Special teams! FORECHECKING!!!  C’mon we all know the drill… no forecheck = no win! Major shelling no matter which widget they stick in goal! Scoring committe, wake up, stretch, sniff the ammonia tubes repeatedly if neccessary, but be ready to go from the giddyup! Both of our goalies have had good success against these guys and they are really going to have to bear down to keep these guys contained… can you say rebound control Yotie fans? I hope our net minders can not only say it but DO it.

With Parker, McLeod, Hanan and Laperriere on the ice (all pretty good at pissin ya off and all will chuck the nucks) DC AND Boynk are going to have to stay cool and save the passion for puttin pucks on net…. well unless severely provoked… and look for that to happen for sure. These guys are going to be desperate, we need to want this game really badly in order to take another 2 from them. So let’s go out there and send them home empty handed… we can even let them keep the brooms if they like.

LET’S GO COYOTES!!!!

See all you faithful at the Job… PS… Hanzal if back in the line up! The BigKids line has had the Mighty Finn in the middle and has been holding their own… thanx to Kapi’s opportunistic lil heart and Dwin’s unrelenting play at wing. So look for TGO to have more flexibility and craftiness in the rotations.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

We have to be true to who we are tonight.

Identity: hardest working team in the NHL - every single night, every single shift, every single player *every single member of the organization*
Hallmarks: the relentless forecheck, scoring by committee, there is no star except the team, belief that they CAN win
Expectations: better every month, building day by day to a common goal, living a winning culture
Goal: the Stanley Cup… period, not the playoffs, not the finals, The CUP

This is the game where expectations collide with reality. Yeah, we have several turning point games but we had some really good luck helping us defray the disappointing outcome of several big games.

We’re getting to crunch time, 7th place is sitting there, waiting for us to claim it with authority. WHEN we win this game we will have taken that last step towards accepting that we are a contender. Like Riddick, we keep what we kill. And if we can grab that play off rung we’re keepin it dammitt no matter whose body we have to step over to do it! (you hear me Stars, Sharks and Ducks!)

The expectations were lower than a snake belly when the season began. GMDM tried to temper the rebuild w/ hope. The promise of a hardworking, entertaining, progressing on-ice product has been kept. Only suddenly the expectations and the reality don’t mesh and in a VERY good way. Wayne has said it, Donor has said it… the GOAL is the cup. If you aren’t here to try to win it, stay the hell home. Expectations change, the steps to the goal change. The goal itself remains static until you achieve it. I have been accused of not only drinkin the Coyote Koolaide but possibly bathing in it. Which cracks me up cuz… well its probably true. I have bought into the belief with all my fannish heart. That THIS team could win the Stanley Cup. *IF Lady Luck doesn’t desert Wayne and IF the Dawgs stay true to themselves* I’m a believer not stupid. The odds are against us if we draw the Ded in the first round but nearly everyone else its definitely an any given day type dawg fight that we COULD win.

So … are we proud of how far we’ve come? Hell yeah. Are we satisfied? Hell to the NOT! So tonight we gear up to battle the team that we gave away a game to. Lost a 3 goal lead to. That we basically choked on. A team we have beaten before with a nice decisive 3 - 1 final. We have GOT to play all 60 minutes of this one like our lives depend on it. Because really… they do. We cannot keep depending on other teams winning to keep us in this hunt.

We absolutely have to contain their shooters (there’s a reason they are 10th in the NHL GF%). Dion Phaneuf needs to be hit… early often and mean… he doesn’t like it and will retaliate. I guess DC will have his work cut out for him tonight unless Wellie draws that short straw. Getting Frankenhead off his game will make life much easier on our snipers. Iggy… no space, no time, just say no to Jarome coming anywhere near Breezy unmolested. If he manages to get enough room to take a deep breath he WILL score. Alex Tanguay always sneaky, always dangerous, rarely stable…watch that boy! he has the potential to be our kryptonite on any given day. Beware former Yotes, Lanky and Hussey and OhNo are not our friends… they are trying to usurp our place.

On our end… shoot early, shoot often, shoot ugly angles, shoot like you get a point for every sog. AND of course the FORECHECK! without it we are dead meat. We absolutley have to have pressure through the neutral zone and give the boys on the blue a chance to hold steady at the top of the zone, turnovers will be a critical part of the game plan. Donor and Mules were quiet last 2 games and Vbrat/Jovo stepped up, this game will have to have a little somethin somethin from all the shooters. And of course Breezy will have to be dead on from jump street or we will be dead  b4 we even get out of the gate.

So let’s go show the world we deserve that 7th spot!

Let’s Go Coyotes!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well back around we come. We got the season off to a rousing start by beating up on the Kings with alacrity. Don’t even THINK about this being an easy set of games. Without Blake slowin the whole team down, the Kings have been rollin lately. Frolov the wonder hobbit is back and Big Dustin Brown has been sinfully good all season (congrats to BigD on the new baby!). King Kopitar seems to have found his groove too. Add in the new gunslinger Boyle, and it just gets uglier. The Kings, who have earned points in 11 of their last 16 games are (10-5-1), and come to the Job  with an overall record of 25-32-3 (53 points) after dousing the Flames last night (6 - 3).

We better come correct. Bring the pain, bring the speed and do NOT forget the forecheck. We need to slow these guys down (Fro, Cami and Kopi are super slick on their blades and an inch given is  a mile taken with them). Cover the neutral like a bad rash (any purple bodies comin over the blue, better have paid dearly for the priviledge). While they haven’t exactly been blessed in net, we need to throw everything we can get a twig on at the webbing because occasionally their goalminders get extra help from the hockey luck fairy. Ask the DedThings, both NY teams, the Jackets and even the Flames what happens when you underestimate the Hollywood purple pack.

So far we have been exceptional against these guys, the scoring committee seems to love drawing the short straw (to see who gets to score next) and the defense have not had a whole lot of work in those past games… 1 - 0, 4 - 1, 4 - 1  and 4 - 2 Big Ed was 1st star twice w/ Muels and Ilya taking the other game’s top honor. With Fro and Co. finding the back of the net frequently (like 5, 6 and 7 goals in a game) we can no longer depend on them to screw themselves over. And let us NOT forget the shame factor (just because they are in the bottom of the barrel, doesn’t mean they have no pride), these guys will be after our butts so we better CYA.

Statistically speaking these 2 games are totally winnable. But as has been said by many pundits smarter than me… ‘on any given day, any team can come out on top’ Let’s just make sure its us.

GO COYOTES!

*pic from CoyoteQ of davidaebischer.net

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well what better way to spend a Valentine’s evening? Chocolates? nope. Roses? pshaaw.  Wining and dining? not even close. Hot tubbing? okay maybe hot tubbing w/ your sweetie but those others … get ‘em over with earlier in the day and come spend the evening watching the Coyotes take the lead back in this series.

With both teams at 2 each in this series it promises to be a whopper. The Stars are trying for a franchise best 8 wins in a row. The Yotes are trying to avoid a season worst 5 in a row loss figure. I was going to try to attend practice today… life just keeps getting in the way of my good intentions. For Dallas, both Jere Lehtinen and Niklas Grossman had the day off yesterday for the Stars but were bcak on the ice today getting ready for this tilt.

Yotes fans can only hope the captain will be back for this one, we sorely missed his shot and gumption in Monday’s bout. (The Donor/Turco wars are great to watch, neither one know the meaning of surrender) We are playin wounded right now, even the young PM has issues.

 [The Coyotes are slowed without injured right wing Shane Doan (groin) and center Martin Hanzal (shoulder) in the lineup. Doan is day to day, and Hanzal is at least a week away from returning. In addition, defenseman Derek Morris is coming off an illness, and forwards Radim Vrbata (groin) and Peter Mueller (foot) are playing hurt. ]

Hopefully Kapi won’t be the only former Star to show out against his former team (c’mon TQ, give Marty a nice blast for old times sake) The defense really need to step up this time ( shouldn’t be an issue if DMo is over his bout w/ the flu… and if Bally’s brain doesn’t eat any more beans… the kid has had a few brain farts last couple of games) We also need to see that same set of crazy acrobatics from Breezy to get this one goin (although Telly has been phenomenal so far against these guys I don’t expect him to start). Z! you have like 12PIMS for the whole season baby, 8 of those are probably puck over glass……stop it!

The Stars aren’t the most prolific point per game producers they manage to get what they need and shut the door on any goals against pretty rapidly. We need to shell Turco better (20 sogs like  last game just isn’t going to get it done) Hopefully Toc has been teaching our big bodies to crease camp better (get in front and stay there… ummm w/ out getting their heads taken off by their teammates)

Winchester looks to be in again according to Stars bloggers, look for a Boynk/Winchester redux or maybe a Weller/Ott bout this time around. Hopefully Carcillo continues his scoring chance first/fight and scrap second ways. ( If he can continue to be a good boy maybe Toc will loosen the reins and Carci can crash the net and irritate the Stars into taking a penalty or 3.)

We need these 2 points boys… Dallas really doesn’t, so lets make sure they go home empty handed and start climbing back over bodies to that 7th spot. (CLS & VAn are within AT&T range w/ 61 and 63 points respectively… and COL is only at 65 thanks to some timely intervening losses) Its now or never guys, start the last leg of this cup run w/  a bang! See all you love birds there!

Let’s Go Coyotes!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

It seems like we haven’t had a regulation win in forever. I hope that changes tonight. The Preds are a tough competitor and although we have done well against them at home it hasn’t been through big decisive wins. We won 3 of the last 4 against them but only by the slimmest margin.

Radulov, Arnott, PJ and Bonk have been the big components in these matchups and we really need to shut them down tonight. The Preds are going to be he-man hungry. They have lost their last 2 games and are not even trying to hear 3 game slide. We are in the same leaky raft after having wet the bed the last 2 games. To stay in this hunt we absolutely have to stop this slide in its tracks.

The scoring committee needs to get to work early in this one. Bryz! needs to be awake and solid from the git go. We need to take advantage of the Preds back-to-back status (although they are 5-2-1 in the second half of back-to-back games this season). They will be tired but gotta be bouyed up from having hung tuff with the Sharks yesterday.

While our road record stands well on its own, our home record has not been above .500 yet this season. That has GOT to change if we want to see any kind of post season action. WG has this to say about our home play: “It just seems like we keep digging ourselves in holes now at home, and that’s not good. We need to figure out a way to come out quicker and get ahead.” Maybe Toc has a suggestion or 5? Is this the night where we see a road warrior game? I hope so.

I have no clue what to expect from the latest call up from San Antonio *Pete Vandemeer* the guy has no offensive firepower at all that I can see. But BillyT wasn’t adding much to the scores anyway so maybe WG will just shorten the bench and give the brawler enuff TOI to ensure that no rough stuff gets in the way of a victory? Donor has not been himself lately (or maybe I just have super high expectations) but he, Vbrat, Perks and Mules have been playing uber minutes, it will be interesting to see if that trend continues or if they can score early enough and often enough to give these guys a break from these 20+ minute per night games.

This team definitely plays follow the leader. As Doan goes, so does the team. Set the table early my Captain. Let’s grab those 2 points and leave none for the kitties. A nice regulation win to start the home ice turn around would sure be sweet. Ugly, warty or dirty, I won’t care…. but let’s get it done tonight!

I hope everyone got brand new sticks for this game. Last game we battled the craptastic ice and a broken stick malaise that pretty much cost us the game. Lighter and more flexible is NOT good for defensemen Z… just a thought.

Predators injuries: RW Erat (back) is questionable. LW Steve Sullivan (back) and RW Jordin Tootoo (hip flexor) are out.

Coyotes injuries: C Martin Handzal (shoulder) is out.

Newsies speak up about the Yotes:

NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/sports/hockey/10coyotes.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3234260

Let’s Go Coyotes!

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com