Wild Sweep Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes could not solve the problems that the Minnesota Wild gave them Sunday night, and that includes the previous three games as well. It’s not that the Coyotes played badly – the Minnesota Wild played better.
The Wild had an answer to the Coyotes forechecking scheme, and for some reason defensively, the Coyotes couldn’t return the favor.
The defensemen kept giving the forwards time and space, and the Wild exploited it all night, especially on the right side of the ice. Keith Ballard didn’t have a strong game.
Ilya Bryzgalov did not have his customary strong effort and he has shown during this road trip that he is not a goaltending machine. All goalies go through stretches of rough play, which is why Josh Harding was in the net last night for the Wild, but in these four games, Bryzgalov has a 3.45 GAA and a .880 save percentage. He might be tired, but in order to become a bona fide number one goaltender, it’s an issue that he has to overcome.
The Coyotes were not able to dominate the game as they had against the Calgary Flames or the Vancouver Canucks. However, they did get stronger as the game wore on. Harding made some important saves for the Wild at the right moments.
There are a couple of positive aspects to the game:
- The Coyotes only gave the Wild one power play.
- Ed Jovanovski showed everyone that he can handle himself by stunning Aaron Voros with a knockdown punch. (Thanks to Hockeyfights.com for posting the video.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITL67A2YjHw&rel=1]
- They were able to score on one of three power play chances.
The Coyotes return home for a huge game against the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night, the first since the injury to Dan Carcillo.
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