IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (1) VS CANUCKS (3) 1/16/20

IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (1) VS CANUCKS (3)  1/16/20

CAPSULE : The Canucks come into this game at 25-18-4 in the 1^st Wild Card spot in the Pacific Division. They did lose their last game, but are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games. At home the Canucks are 14-5-3 which is the 10^th best home record in the league. They also have the 10^th best offense. The Coyotes come into this one pretty much tied for 1^st place in the Pacific Division with a record of 26-18-5 and feature the 3^rd best defense in the NHL. I say pretty much tied because the Flames have the same record they do but don’t have the regulation wins to actually be in 1st. Adin Hill is in net again tonight, and no matter how much he sucks or how great he is, it’s for the best because whatever is going on with Raanta, I think they should give him at least another 36 years to heal up.

DVORAK (18) –  Wired a bullet between the pads on the Canucks tender in the 1^st period coming off a tape to tape pass from Hall. It was Dvorak’s 12^th goal of the season, so this is becoming a bit more of a habit for him. That goal put the Coyotes up 1-0 at the time.

HALL (91) -  Had a nice assist on the Dvorak goal in the 1^st period. It looked early like the Canucks were trying to get him riled up to take his focus off the game and on to retaliating.  In the 2^nd period Hall hit the post on a Power Play shot and the puck stayed out of the net. That is the 8,968 time Hall has done that in the past 4 or 5 games.

CHAPUT (26) –  Not a great start in the 1^st period. He took a slashing penalty and it was definitely his fault, taking 3 swipes at the Canucks player during that sequence. He is in the game to replace an injured Richardson. The Coyotes were able to kill that penalty.

LIBERTY – Nice to see Lemu Emu and Doug getting the key to the city. It’s kind of great when you finally get that recognition.

LYUBUSHKIN (46) –  Got called for hooking in the 1^st period, because he hooked a Canucks player. That play did lead to a goal which tied the game up at 1-1. Lyubuskin might be a lot better when he’s activated (or getting up into the offensive zone) because his 2^nd period was way better than his first period.

OEL (23) –  Got credited with the 2^nd assist on the Dvorak goal in the 1^st period.

GRABNER (40) – Put a couple of pucks on net in the 1^st period. That is the most I have seen him shoot in a single period since maybe November.  This was a much better game out of him than his usual as of late.

CHYCHRUN (6) –  Got shoved down from behind late in the 2^nd period and for whatever reason no penalty was called. He was fantastic tonight, playing solid defense and even putting 4 shots on net.

GARLAND (83)  –  Didn’t get his first shot on net until the 3^rd period, but he was pretty solid all night getting plays set up.

HINOSTROZA (13) – This was another game where he had a ton of effort which was great, but we need to start seeing some points out of him.

STEPAN (21) – Out shot all forwards with 4 shots on net.

DEMERS (55) – Registered 3 shots on net and overall had a pretty solid game.

GOLIGOSKI (33) – Ended the game with 2 shots on net, but had several giveaways late in the game that hurt the team’s chances of getting down the ice to score the game tying goal. To his credit he did have 4 blocks.

KESSEL (81) –  Not his best night, but he did spend a ton of time with the puck.

SCHMALTZ (8) – The line with him and Keller doesn’t seem to be clicking right now. 5 games without a point.

SODERBERG (34) – Had 2 shots on net but really struggled in the face-off circle with a win percentage of just 20%.

CROUSE (67) – Destroyed a Canucks player in the 3^rd period which was pretty much the hit of the night.

KELLER (9) – Had some  nice shots on net, but the team needs him to start burying those on nights like tonight.

HILL (31) –  The goal by Vancouver in the 1^st period was not on him. His D has to be back there to clear out rebounds, especially on the Penalty Kill. The 2^nd  goal was on Hill after putting himself well out of position to prevent a wrap-around goal. This something I mentioned last game. He has some positioning issues. Having said that, Hill made some monster saves tonight and deserved a better fate. He only gave up 2 goals and needed more from the team’s offense.

EXTERNAL ICE –  Calgary won in the shoot-out against the Leafs, but that was going to happen anyway because the Leafs are just terrible. They now have 57 points on the season and a record of 26-18-5. The Golden Knights beat the 3^rd worst team (Senators) in the NHL 4-2 so they are now at 56 pts and have a record of 25-19-6.

WRAP UP – This was a pretty rare night this year where things could have not gone worse for the Coyotes. They lost and pretty much everyone else won that they wanted not to. The Coyotes are in 2^nd place now in the Pacific which isn’t the end of the world, but both Vancouver and Edmonton have 2 games in hand on them.  Calgary has it easy on Saturday taking on Ottawa so they look to keep their position at 1^st through the break. The Coyotes really need a win Saturday to keep pace. Vancouver plays the Sharks, which won’t exactly be an easy one, but it’s not a hugely difficult match up either.

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