IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (3) VS CAPITALS (1) 2/15/20

IT CAME FROM OUT OF THE ICE : COYOTES (3) VS CAPITALS (1) 2/15/20

CAPSULE : Washington comes into this game with the 3^rd best record in the NHL at 37-15-5. One of those OT loses was to the Coyotes the last time these two teams locked horns. The Capitals also feature the 3^rd best offense in the NHL. The Coyotes come into this one reeling at just 2-5-3 in their last 10 games and still holding on to the last Wild Card spot in the West. Part of the issue there is that the Predators after tonight will have 4 games in hand on the Coyotes and the Coyotes are only ahead of them by 1 point in the standings. I say all that to indicate how critical wins are right now. The downside for a team like the Predators is that they have a bunch more games piled into a short amount of season left. So fatigue could kick in at some point.

SODERBERG (34) – Outshot all the forwards on the Coyotes with 3 on net in the 1^st period. None, went in, but we like that.

HALL (91) – A pretty terrible 1^st period for him. Missing the net on shots and missing his fellow players on passing attempts. He had a breakaway in the 3^rd and was all alone, but the puck got away from him and he never got a shot on net.

RICHARDSON (15) – Tripped Oven Chicken for some reason early in the 2^nd period. The Coyotes were fortunate not to give up a goal on that Power Play because Oven Chicken hit the post.

STEPAN (21) – Almost had a goal right at the end of the Washington Power Play in the 2^nd period. At that point in the game Stepan had put to shots on net. In the 3^rd period he had 2 great shots short-handed but the Capitals goalie was up to the task.

DVORAK (18) – Put a fantastic shot through the 5 hole on the Capitals net-minder. That goal put the Coyotes up 1-0 in the 2^nd period at the time.

JACK IN THE BOX – I love the fact that Menutaur has a tattoo of a hamburger on his shoulder.

GARLAND (83) – His really smart pass to Dvorak in the 2^nd ended up in a goal for Dvorak. That is all just a really long way of saying he had an assist. There were several bad moments for Garland in the 1^st two periods where he seemed to get about 75% of his passes stolen.
 
HINOSTROZA (13) – Had a really good chance on net with about 5 minutes to go in the 2^nd, but put it about 6 inches over the net. He was kind of off to the side on the shot, so it would have been a sneaky goal had it been on net. In the 3^rd Hinostroza had another chance at an difficult angle shot and was able to get it on net, but the Capitals tender made the save.

LYUBUSHKIN (46) – Played extremely solid tonight. Not only in the defensive zone, but in the offensive zone as well.

GOLIGOSKI (33) – Registered an assist on the Dvorak goal. He had a pretty solid first period. In the 2^nd period, he could have probably put in a lot better effort preventing that rebound shot on Raanta that ended up in the net.

KESSEL (81) – Wasn’t mentioned much in the 2^nd period, but he had his wheels churning. Both of his shots came out of nowhere. In the 3^rd period he had an awesome re-direction on Holtby and that goal put the Coyotes up 2-1 at the time.

SCHMALTZ (8) – One of only 2 forwards without a shot on net after 2 periods.

KELLER (9) – The other forward that didn’t have a shot on net after 2 periods. He did have a great chance in front of the next about half way through the 3^rd period, but couldn’t put it in the net, probably more due to running out of real estate more than anything else.

FOX SPORTS AZ – Seems like they use more stock footage between period showing people walking around in the arena, than TOHO used in their 1970’s Godzilla movies.  

CHYCHRUN (6) – Had the assist on the goal by Kessel. His shot was from way down-town. Like from the Jimmy John’s near the Copper Square area.

FISCHER (36) – A strong effort in the 3^rd to get out on the puck for a breakaway, drew a tripping penalty against the Capitals. He was on the 4^th line and they had a lot of really great effort tonight.

OEL (23) – Was good all night position wise, but only ended up with 1 hit for the game. Zero shots on net and zero blocks.

HJALMARSSON (4) – Had a fantastic game tonight. 4 blocks and 1 shot on net.

OESTERLE (82) – Had 4 blocks tonight. This was one of his best efforts of the season.

WHAT ? – “Are you afraid of a little flavor?” – Nacho Fries.

CROUSE (67) – Scored an empty netter late in the 3^rd after Washington pulled their goalie to try and tie the game. That put the Coyotes up 3-1 which ended up being the final score.

RAANTA (32) – First game I remember where he didn’t give up 2 goals in the 1^st period. Or maybe I remember when he didn’t, but it “feels” like it’s been awhile. On the goal that the Capitals scored in the 2^nd period, there was nothing Raanta could have done. Having said that, if the goal we scored in Toronto on Thursday night in OT was interference, so was the 1^st goal the Capitals scored tonight. There was definitely a Washington player in the paint touching Raanta a split second before the goal went in. Needless to say, this was a great bounce back game for Raanta. I was wrong about him needed more time off than they gave him. I wouldn’t play him 2 nights in a row however.

EXTERNAL ICE –The Predators beat the Blues today and stay within 3 points of the Coyotes. Now they have 63 points. Like I mentioned at the top, that’s not a good thing for the Coyotes. The Predators have 4 games in hand on the Coyotes. The Oilers unfortunately beat a decent Panthers team 4-1. Not what the Coyotes wanted. Edmonton is now at 68 points, solidly in 2^nd place in the Pacific. Vegas beat the Islanders 1-0 and are now at 68 points. There was a bit of good news, the Calgary Flames got crushed by Chicago 8-4. That keeps Calgary at 66 points. The other good news… the Coyotes are only 3pts out of 1^st place in the Pacific Division.

WRAP UP – The Coyotes really needed a win. They got one. On to the Islanders Monday.