WHAT I SAW : COYOTES (2) VS PANTHERS (4) 3/21/19

WHAT I SAW : COYOTES (2) VS PANTHERS (4) 3/21/19

KEMPE (29) – Was solid in the 3^rd. He had a LOT of go even after taking big hits. This guy had 3 shots and 4 hits. No one can accuse him of not being ready for this one.

ARCHIBALD (45) – Checked out.

PP – That PP in the 2^nd looked about as bad as I have ever seen it.

GARLAND (83) – 3 shots on net. It could have been a worse night, but it also could have been better.

BB&T CENTER – The outside of that place looks pretty sweet.

KELLER (9) – 3 shots on net is an okay night for him. Okay isn’t going to cut it down the stretch.

CROUSE (67) – Checked out.

COFFEE – Is in my future. It’s been a long day after heading back from Tucson this morning after the Roadrunners game last night.

GALCHENYUK (17) – Couldn’t hit the net with the exception of 1 time. Not a great night passing wise for him. I also think we need to change up the PP quite a bit. Team know exactly what’s happening and that is killing our element of surprise.

DVORAK (18) – Was mostly checked out. Just 2 shots on goal all night.

COUSINS (25) – Checked out.

THE ARIZONA LOTTERY – Has a chief fun officer? What?

PANIK (14) – 2 shots on goal tonight. I don’t think he had to bad of a game overall.

TYSON – By the end of the night, I think he referred to at least 4 Panthers players as being the “Last” guy you want shooting the biscuit. Gotta love it.

HJALMARSSON (4) – Got an extremely strange interference penalty against him in the 2^nd. What makes it so odd, is that KELLER gets thrown around like a rag doll almost every game and hardly ever draws a penalty.

CHYCHRUN (6) – Got a penalty in the first period, which of course led to a Coyotes short-handed goal. Later in the 3^rd he turned it over and the Coyotes got scored on putting the Panthers up 3-1. He has had some terrible luck the last 2 games. His effort was there all night, so I am not going to get on his case here.

OEL (23) – Really solid game tonight. Allowing 4 goals with 1 empty netter sounds like a lot, but the Panthers have a ton of offense and we really needed more than 2 goals in this one. 4 hits tells you he was engaged.

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING – One day I want to find a treasure map and follow it. Like the Goonies.

GOLIGOSKI (33) – Overall a decent game for him. He was all over the ice.

DEMERS (55) – 3 blocks for him on the night. No complaints.

OESTERLE (82) – Had 2 nice shots on the Panthers tender in the 2^nd. I think when a game is being evenly played, it’s never a terrible idea to have the D jump in on more plays. Yes, sometimes that gets you in trouble, but not necessarily against teams that don’t do well with pressure.

KUEMPER (35) – Not his best night, but he was left out to dry more than you like to see. I am sure however that you can find plenty of people thinking he is the worst goalie in the league right now...because the team isn't scoring. 

HINOSTROZA (13) – Lost the puck late in the 1^st period and with 14 seconds to go the Panthers tied it up at the time 1-1. I think the issue with HINOSTROZA on this one was that he didn’t have a play and was almost trying to do too much. For him it usually works, but not this time.

RICHARDSON (15) – Had an assist on the Coyotes first goal. He also scored late in the 3^rd period when the Coyotes had an empty net. It’s actually the first time the Coyotes ever pulled that off. Unfortunately they could not score the 2^nd goal to tie it up at 3-3.

GRABNER (40) – When he’s on the ice, speeding down the ice, it’s like watching a fireball… actually, I don’t know if that makes any sense. I mean, I don’t watch a ton of fireballs…sooo. He had the shorty in the first, with epic breakaway speed.  He was also great killing the first PP for Florida after the penalty kill.

TRAGIC NUMBER – With the Redwings, LA Kings, Ottawa and New Jersey eliminated. It’s looking like the Rangers and Buffalo will be the next two to be on the list. The next team in the West would be the Ducks.

WRAP UP – Lets face it. Tonight was a DISASTER. Florida is a good team (they beat both Minnesota and San Jose this month), but these are not games we want to be losing. Having said that, it’s time to move on to New Jersey get up at the butt crack of dawn and play some hockey. I have faith in the team, it’s time to turn this losing streak into a winning streak. The Coyotes are currently stuck at 78 points and have slid out of a Wild Card spot, hopefully not for long. 

Keeping an eye on the Blues just because they could end up slipping down into a "Wild Card" spot at some point but tonight that prospect went in the opposite direction. Like the Coyotes, the Redwings started off the night well, but ended it poorly. The Blues currently have 86 PTS and are ahead of the Coyotes by 8. 

Out of all the games tonight besides the Coyotes actual game, this was the one the Coyotes really needed to go for them and it did. Over the weekend the Coyotes need both wins over the ISLANDERS and DEVILS if they can get them, but the good news is the AVS and BLACKHAWKS have a back to back against each other and 1 of them is going to get at best, only 1 point on each of those nights. Hopefully it's a split. Either way however the Coyotes man...they gotta pick up at least 2 points over the weekend. By the way, the Flyers are terrible right now so they are winning strictly out of desperation. They Coyotes are not the only team who is getting shocked by teams they have no business losing too. The Blackhawks are at 74 points. Still 4 behind the Coyotes. 

This is why I say the Stars are un-reliable. I think it's quite possible they will miss the playoffs all together. Anyway, this win by the Avs didn't do the Coyotes any favors. It actually dropped them right out of the Wild Card for now. The Avs are at 78 points tied with the Coyotes, who need to beat them by a point due to head to tie-breaker issues. The Stars are at 82 points 4 ahead of the Coyotes and I am thinking this next 5 game stretch is going to be brutal for them. Their last 3 games are all the stuff of nightmares. They aren't playing teams that are overly great...they are playing desperate teams trying to make the playoffs. The worst kind. 

Columbus might have some road fatigue right now, but the Oilers are still playing likes someone stole all the puffed wheat squares in Alberta. They current sit at 73 points, 5 points behind the Coyotes. 

Vegas is pretty close to clinching I am pretty sure. So perhaps in not much longer we can stop caring about what they do.