Coyotes v. Redwings 1.3
As much as the Coyotes had a possible home-ice advantage for the previous two games, they will need to take one back up there in a state East of Wisconsin.
Where it’s cold. And probably miserable. Might cause people to have a contemptible attitude towards others. And I’m actually being nicer than I could be here.
The whole depressing atmosphere, bad weather and other stuff are the reasons why people move away from the misery, and come down here but they bring their attitudes with them. I almost understand their abject behavior. The hockey team is all they have, even out here. Balance is a good thing – so is therapy.
But enough about that, there’s a hockey game later today and it’s nationally televised. So we’ll be watching with our windows open. Hell, we might go to the pool and watch it on the big screen out there.
Oh, I did say that there would be enough of that kind of stuff. Mea culpa.
In order for the Coyotes to take one back, they’ll need to return to their style of hockey and account for the fact that the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin has adjusted to them. Because of those possible adjustments, the team practiced yesterday.
Many players might have objected to that, but this team wanted to get back out there and figure stuff out. The Coyotes have taken on the personality of their coach, and are a very determined group.
It’s a good thing too because the Coyotes have more adversity than playing in that rink on National Television. Fiddler suffered an upper-body injury and is day-to-day. His appearance is a game time decision. Robert Lang skated with Taylor Pyatt and Lee Stempniak, just in case he needs to come in to relieve Fiddler.
They could also run seven defensemen as well.
The problem is that the Coyotes will miss Fiddler’s face-off prowess where he has been greater than 50% from the face-off dot. Lang has yet to put up those kind of numbers during the regular season.
Keith Yandle and Woltek Wolski needs to continue their hot streaks as both have three points in two games and both have two goals apiece. With Shane Doan’s physical play and his goal that he scored Friday night, he might get hot as well.
Plus, during the regular season the Coyotes only had one game where the opposition scored seven goals and that came by way of the Buffalo Sabres on January 19. After that, Bryzgalov was a machine only allowing the opponent two goals in five out of six games.
The only game he allowed more during that stretch was against the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin, where they scored four. The Coyotes were down 4-2 with about a minute to go in regulation, and they tied it up. Then, they won in OT on a goal by Shane Doan.
So, they have that experience – they know what to do.
Unlike these people down here, those fans of the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin, if any Coyotes’ fan fortunate enough to score tickets inside their arena (which is unlikely), I don’t expect to see any snakes on the ice. I do expect to see a jelly fish or two. The guy swinging it around his head should be careful – those jelly fish can sting.
Game on.
#ThrowTheSnake
What I’ve Read This Morning Around Cyberspace:
From The Arizona Republic:
From the Detroit Free Press:
From Five for Howling:
From The Good, the Bad, the Coyotes:
From The Toronto Star:
From MLive.com:
From The Montreal Gazette:
From The Detroit News:
From The Toronto Sun:
From The CBC:
From The Globe and Mail:
My prediction: One snake will be thrown in Detroit this afternoon.
That would be very awesome.