One Fan's Perspective

“It’s not that hard. Sometimes I just have to kick myself in the butt.”

Steven Reinprecht takes the short path to redemption Wednesday night by scoring a hat trick against one of his former teams, the Colorado Avalanche. After receiving plenty of criticism for his work against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday night, he answers by scoring four goals in two nights.

The Coyotes had a strong first period where they initiated their forecheck and had the Avalanche on their heels. Reinprecht scored his first two goals one minute apart and the pressure continued in the second period.

However, after Daniel Winnik’s first fight in the NHL (and his first decision), the Avalanche took over with Marek Svatos scoring his second goal of the night, which tied the game at two. Ilya Bryzgalov had to make some timely saves once again to hold the score even.

Shane Doan then scored the game winner on a power play.

Two empty net goals scored by Reinprecht and Radim Vrbata sealed the deal for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes had a solid effort tonight save for the second period. They also have started to correct some of the deficiencies that lacked in the game as of late. For the past two games on the power play, the Coyotes have converted five out of nine chances. They have found their intensity and aggression by forechecking their opponents and utilizing their speed on the ice. For the first and the third periods of tonight’s game, the Avalanche definitely found themselves skating backward rather than forward.

Head coach Wayne Gretzky took a very wise approach when handling Reinprecht’s transgressions from last week’s game. Instead of scratching him, or putting him in the “dog house,” he gives him a shot at redemption with a “demotion” to the third line.

To me, Reinprecht skating on the third line is not a demotion but an opportunity to add scoring depth to that line as well as giving Reinprecht a break to get his head straight. Gretzky shows his savvy dealing with players who are very self-critical. Instead of putting him in a position of failure, Gretzky puts him a position for success and Reinprecht took advantage of it.

Again, a good head coach gets the most possible out of a team that on paper lacked skill and experience. People should start giving credit where credit is due.

However, I suppose that they’ll find something else to criticize.

Radim Vrbata scored his 17th goal of the season, one away from his career high of 18 that he scored while in a Avalanche sweater. In addition, three Coyotes, Doan, Vrbata, and Reinprecht are now in double digits in goals scored. Peter Mueller and Fredrik Sjostrom have nine goals each.

The injury bug has begun to float around the NHL. Not only did the Avalanche have to deal with it tonight with Ryan Smyth now out with a high ankle sprain, but the Chicago Blackhawks have injury concerns of their own. Jonathan Toews returned to Chicago for an MRI of his knee – he will not be with the Blackhawks tomorrow night when they face the Coyotes at Jobing.com arena.

So, the Coyotes have another opportunity to win their second game at home. Hopefully, they will take advantage of it.

Tags: Colorado Avalanche, Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes by pbcoyotes
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The Phoenix Coyotes finally win a game on home ice, but they didn’t make it easy on themselves. Having a 3-1 lead in the waning moments of the second period, the Avalanche scored to bring the score within one.

The third period is still the worst period for the Coyotes as they allowed the Avalanche to score another goal late to tie the game.

However, thanks to Ilya Bryzgalov, Radim Vrbata and Peter Mueller, the victory went to the Coyotes and they travel northward to Colorado to face the Avalanche again.

There were many positive aspects to Monday night’s game. Steven Reinprecht made amends for his turnover late in the game against the Red Wings Saturday night with a timely go ahead goal 11 seconds after Radim Vrbata scored a goal on the power play that tied the game at one apiece. Good things happen when players skate forward and shoot the puck in prime scoring areas.

Radim Vrbata is getting hot once again as he scored two goals and one assist in regulation, and finished the game with a shootout goal. He has five points in two games with three goals.

Peter Mueller is cash money! The rookie gets better and better with each game he plays. On Vrbata’s second power play chance, Mueller, after corralling the puck at the point, makes a beautiful tape-to-tape pass to Vrbata. Vrbata shows his skill by holding on to the shot until Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj makes a move, and then Vrbata puts the puck past him.

Mueller also shows his skill in the shootout. Mueller has a goal in each of the two shootout victories by the Coyotes.

Ilya Bryzgalov shows exactly why quality netminders can jump start a young team’s development. He stopped 42 of 45 shots and most of them quality chances from the Avalanche snipers. If it wasn’t for him, the score would have been clearly out of reach.

He needs better defensive help late in periods and in the third from his team. It is time for General Manager Don Maloney to begin negotiating with Bryzgalov in earnest and sign him to a long-term deal. Most likely, those negotiations are happening already.

The Coyotes did not have a good start, but they took over in the second period. Elite teams, though, find ways to crawl back and they got that from their third line of Ben Guite, Ian LaPerriere, and Cody McLeod who played spectacularly all night. The Coyotes lost their momentum with the goal by Brett Clark late in the second.

The Coyotes also need to tighten up defensively and ramp their game up a notch in third periods, especially at home.

Bryzgalov and the power play enabled the Coyotes to go to a shootout and win this game. With their prowess on the road, they can potentially win another against this Avalanche team. However, the Avalanche have an amazing 15-5 record at home, so it will not be easy.

Tags: Colorado Avalanche, Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes by pbcoyotes
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The first meeting between the Colorado Avalanche and the Phoenix Coyotes takes place tonight at home. The teams play again on Wednesday night in Colorado.

It’s important for the Coyotes to finally get a win on home ice. The Avalanche have lost two in a row, with a 3-1 loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, and they are not a good road team posting a 6-10-2 record.

Conversely, as well all have found out, the Coyotes are struggling at home with a 5-10-1 record. Either both teams are due, or the Coyotes can capitalize and make the Avalanche struggle further.

The Avalanche have lost Joe Sakic for an extended period of time due to hernia surgery. He will be out eight to 12 weeks. He hasn’t played since November 30th. Since that time, the Avalanche have gone 8-5-1 and have outscored their opponents 43 to 36. With Sakic out of the lineup, they have only had one two game losing streaks and their longest winning streak has been capped at three games.

If the Avalanche lose tonight, it will only be the second time this season that the Avalanche have lost three games in a row.

The second period of hockey games has been the best for the Avalanche as they have scored 47 goals, while only giving up 35. The first period has been the worst as their opponents have outscored them 34-25. If the Coyotes get off to a fast start, and hold them in the second period, it will benefit them greatly.

In contrast, the first and third periods are still the worst periods for the Coyotes. They have allowed 28 goals in the first and only put 21 in the net and they have allowed 44 goals in the third but only scored 34. Based on 36 games played, when the Coyotes have scored first they still lead the league in win percentage. No other team that has played the same amount of games as the Coyotes comes close.

In spite of the mental errors from the past two games against the Wild and the Red Wings, Gretzky plans no changes to the lineup. Not only do the Coyotes need to continue their disciplined play, they must either think of this game as a road contest, or stop being so nervous in front of their home crowd.

The crowd’s silence at important moments of the hockey game could be a result of not wanting to add to the anxiety of the players. However, I think that’s counterproductive because there has to be a difference in environment at home than on the road. Some of the athletes feed off of that positive energy.

These next few games are an important stretch for the Coyotes. Winning tonight’s game could give them a better feeling at home as in January they play seven games here versus six games on the road. So I think this game is pretty important to set the table right.

For views on the Colorado Avalanche, feel free to read: Dear Lord Stanley, Mile High Hockey, Jibblescribbits, Jerseys and Hockey Love, and In the Cheap Seats.

Monday Mid-to-Late-Morning Edit:

According to the Denver Post, the Avalanche haven’t defeated Coyotes’ goalie Ilya Bryzgalov in regulation for the past five meetings. The article has a detailed look regarding the statistics of the Russian’s GAA and save percentage.

Head coach Joel Quenneville spoke in glowing terms about the netminder, “We saw him in the playoffs that year and he played great. He’s a big guy, and he’s given (Phoenix) some life. They’re a dangerous team, a young team that works hard, and he covers a lot of net.”

Tags: Colorado Avalanche, Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes by pbcoyotes
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