WHAT I SAW : COYOTES (4) VS STARS (5) 2/4/19

WHAT I SAW : COYOTES (4) VS STARS (5)  2/4/19

FOUR – The number of games the Stars one coming into tonight. This is a team that can win 4 or 5 straight, then lose that many right after that.

GARLAND (83) – Had a bad turnover in the 1^st, but caught up to the Dallas forward coming down the ice and was able to knock him into an alternate universe. I love it when players make a mistake and recover quickly.

SINCE YOU’VE BENN GONE – BENN took on PANIK (14) up against the boards between the benches. The back and forth slashing, pushing and shoving resulted in offsetting minors.

OEL (23) – Put a puck passed Bishop (the Stars goalie) in the 1^st. The goal made him the highest scoring defensemen in Coyotes history.  Bishop by the way is 6 feet 7 inches tall. They might as well just put a wall in front of their net.

THE DUCKS – Have officially stopped playing hockey this year. They lost 6-1 against the Leafs. Not trying to be too hard on the DUCKS, but they have allowed 15 goals in the last 2 games, they might as well, just take their goalie out of the net.

LYUBUSHKIN (46) – Nice shot on net in the 1^st. I would like to see him take that shot a lot more often, especially if he is going to get it on net. I get that he is a defensemen, but the dudes got a heavy hard shot. Defensively tonight he seemed un-sure about the importance of clearing the puck.

ROBOT KIDS – are super creepy.

STEPHAN (21) – Coyotes had a 3 on 1 breakaway late in the 1^st. I liked his first pass, but the 2^nd pass on the play allowed the Stars goalie to get into position. Of course I also never mind when STEPHAN just put the puck on net, he had 4 shots in the 1^st to lead the team. He had a ton of time on the ice tonight, so I am hoping that doesn’t come back to bite him against the Preds.

GILA RIVER ON THE ROAD – Never noticed this before, but during OEL’s 1^st intermission interview, he was talking to Todd Walsh with a GILA RIVER backdrop behind him. Wut? Have I been missing this detail the whole season?

KEMPE (29) – Had an unfortunate delay of game penalty in the 2^nd. Sometimes you can tell when guys just not being careless, but this one was just due to the puck being at a weird angle. The PP for the Stars ended up in a goal on a deflection past KUEMPER. Outside of that, KEMPE made a bunch of smart plays tonight even after taking a huge beating physically from pretty much everyone in a green uniform.

VANCOUVER – Losing to the Flyers, meant that no matter what happened tonight, we couldn’t be any more than 3pts out of a playoff spot after tonight’s games.

CONNAUTION (44) – Scored in the 2^nd. He put a shot on net from the blue line that got tipped by Dallas and ended up in the back of their net. It’s CONNAUTION’s first goal on the season.

I’VE BEEN MISSING YOU – GALCHENYUK (17) Is quickly becoming the teams leader in shots that end up nowhere near the net. Having said that he scored the 4^th goal on the night for the Coyotes. Nice to have a point blank shot we didn’t miss.

ARCHIBALD (45) – Had a strong game tonight registering an assist and a few shots on net.

A ROLL OF THE DICE, A SPIN OF THE WEAL (10) – Had a nice point blank shot on net tonight and did well when he was out there. His play tonight was about as exciting as Taco Bell bringing back their nacho fries.

GOLIGOSKI (33) - Got rammed into the boards severally in the 2^nd. He was able to get up after bleeding all over the ice, but it drew a 5 minute major for Dallas and a game misconduct for RITCHIE. He did not return to the ice for the 3^rd period. Unfortunately the 5 minute power play did not lead to a score for the Coyotes.

3^RD – OUR PENALTY KILL – Was terrible tonight allowing 3 goals. For whatever reason everyone started to point out how the Coyotes have never lost a game in regulation this year after leading in the 3^rd. I dislike when the fans and announcers do that, even though it has no effect on the actual game. Not exactly sure why.

HINOSTROZA (13) – Had a GARLAND like goal in the 3^rd. Overall he quietly had a great game tonight even before the marker.

COUSINS (25) – Had 2 assists.  

OESTERLE (82) – Gave up a puck behind the next with about 9 minutes to go and the play lead to the Stars 5^th goal of the night.

KUEMPER (35) – A rough night overall. Looking back at the goals against, he faced a lot of point blank shots and tips. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

WRAP UP – Losing GOLIGOSKI cost us big tonight. Not sure how many more starters we can lose this season. The hope right now is that some of them will come back into the fold while we are still in playoff contention. The good news after the loss, was that we didn’t lose any ground tonight.  This team is playing like a team that wants it more than the teams they are playing. Young teams make mistakes, ours was not doing a better job of getting it out or our zone late in the 3rd and not capitalizing on the power play. This team will make a push. The league had better be ready. We are competing this hard with what amounts to over half an AHL team.