IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (0) VS HURRICANES (3) 1/10/20

IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (0) VS HURRICANES (3)  1/10/20

CAPSULE :  If you read my blog a lot, you probably know I am a huge Hurricanes fan. So even though the Coyotes are my favorite team, these are the kinds of games I love. Both teams currently hold a playoff spot in their respective conferences and both teams come in just 2 points apart. The Coyotes are 25-17-4 and with the Vegas loss last night, they are still in 1^st place in the Pacific Division. The Hurricanes are 25-16-2 which is good enough for a Wild Card spot in the East at the moment.

DEMERS (55) – In the 1^st period on a 3 on 2 drive down the ice, he for some reason decided to put a pass behind Schmaltz. Not sure exactly what happened on that play. Needless to say, Schmaltz didn’t have a stick growing out of his back, so the pass was stolen and the opportunity was broken up.

GRABNER (40) –  Took the play off where the Hurricanes scored their first goal. The D was tied up on the play and pretty much zero backchecking was going on. In the 3^rd on  a big short-handed breakaway he found Crouse on a nice pass. Crouse had a nice back-hand shot,  but unfortunately the Canes tender was able to make the save.

STEPAN (21) –  Lost the puck late in the 1^st period and that lead to a breakaway on a turnover that lead to a shot that hit the pipe. In the 2^nd he had a decent shot on net, but Mrazek was pretty dominant in net for the Canes tonight. He tied for the lead in shots on net with 4.

OESTERLE (82) –  Late in the 1^st period took the puck out to dinner in the offensive zone, went and saw a movie with it, then finally decided to try and shoot it on net and had it stolen. Like, that puck was already off dating someone else. He did end the game with 3 blocks.

LYUBUSHKIN (46) – Will kick a puck if he can’t find his stick. That first goal was probably as much of a defensive mistake by him as it was Grabner just not getting up into the play. Tyson talks about puck watching a lot, and that was Lyubushkin on the Hurricanes goal in the 1^st period.

KELLER (9) – Killed a lot of our second power play by completely missing a pass to the point and sending it all the way down to Raanta.

SODERBERG (34) –  Had a wide open net in the 2^nd period but couldn’t get the shot off because he was checked from behind. There was no call on the play and pretty much everyone was shocked.

GARLAND (83) – Aside from not scoring in the first 31 minutes of the game, Garland was all over the ice and almost scored when hit the Hurricanes tender in the mind.

REACH FOR THE SKY – Sorry Sanderson Ford, but if any mountains actually touch the sky, a lot of people are going to freak the freak out.

HALL (91) – Had a good breakaway in the 2^nd period but just couldn’t put it past the Hurricanes goalie. He did have a chance to pass it to Garland who was also open on the opposite side, but the Hurricanes defensemen laid out on the ice killing any chance of a decent pass.

GREAT PA – In the 2^nd period Niederreiter of the Canes had a breakaway and a great shot on Raanta that Raanta stopped. He then proceeded to throw his stick against the glass and stomp his feet and slam the gate to the bench. The Canes PA guy or gal played “SHOUT” by Tears For Fears almost consoling Niederreiter on the play. Lyrics “Shout, Shout, let it all out…” hahaha. It’s the little things guys… sooo funny.

CROUSE (67) – Had a great back-hand shot on net in the 3^rd on a short-handed breakaway but could not put it in the net.

HINOSTROZA (13) –  Good game for him tonight, not a great one. The penalty they called on him in the 3^rd was iffy, but to the refs credit, they called the game pretty well tonight.

DVORAK (18) –  I remember his penalty but neither of his shots on net. Is that a bad thing?

SCHMALTZ (8) – Had to shots on net and won half his face-offs. I think he actually had a better night controlling the puck last night.

NO PLACE TO GO – You feel stuck, because you are stuck…in a giant chocolate bar.

KESSEL (81) – Is this thing on? Do you have to like, plug it in or something?

RICHARDSON (15) –  Not a good night for him, but he did kill penalties. Just wish there was more going on for him offensively this season.

WEIRD – Todd Walsh actually said that he was starving and he was hoping we are too? What the f----------dge.  

OEL (23) –  2 shots on goal and 2 hits. A lot of fatigue and frustration tonight.  

CHYCHRUN (6) – Umm, this dude came to play. It was a great night for him defensively with 5 freakin blocks. The entire rest of the defense had a total of 3. He also had 2 shots on net which was tied with or more than all but 2  of the forwards. Individually a great night for him.

POWERLESS PLAY – This was the second night in a row where the Coyotes just could not put a puck in the net on the Power Play or at full-strength. To the Coyotes credit they also did not give up a Power Play goal tonight.

GOLIGOSKI (33) –  Him and a few of the other defensemen spent way way too much time trying to set up plays and not getting the puck back down the ice to generate offense.

RAANTA (32) –  Left after 2 periods after doing extremely well given the chances the Canes were getting. Not sure what is going on with him, but it’s likely the injury that nagged him last week. I thought it might be a bit too soon for him to be coming back. I think the Coyotes might have been better off riding Hill into the break which comes from January 19^th to the 28^th.

HILL (31) – A very solid effort on his part once he took the net.

EXTERNAL ICE – No games outside of this one affect the Coyotes.

WRAP UP –  One of those games where we out-shot the opponent, but it seemed like we took about 7 shots all night that actually tested their goalie. After tomorrow the Coyotes will drop into 3^rd or worse in the Pacific Division. They finish the night with a drop to 2^nd place. After tomorrow that spot will belong to Edmonton or Calgary who play each other. The Coyotes finish the night with 54 points and are 25-18-4.