There is a positive to this season’s series against the best team in hockey – the Coyotes can play with them. Even though the Coyotes were on the second game of a back-to-back, there were times where they just outworked the Red Wings, especially when they hemmed the Wings in their zone for two-and-a-half shifts in the third period.

The Coyotes were that annoying team that just won’t go away and if they keep playing like that, they may win the games they need to.

The concern right now for me is that first goal allowed by Ilya Bryzgalov. The Coyotes play much better with the lead. In the game with Columbus, that goal happened in the first 21 seconds of the first period. Obviously, it took longer against the Red Wings, but allowing that first goal so early can be devastating, but to the Coyotes credit, they haven’t let that affect them in any way.

The deflected goal off of Tomas Holmstrom’s knee was a lucky one. Derek Morris did the right thing in trying to clear that guy away, but they took the shot at the net and as they say, good things can happen.

Niklas Lidstrom’s goal was legit as the screen was again formed in front of Bryzgalov, but when the puck is turned over against any elite team, it gets ugly.

The Coyotes return to Nashville to face the Predators tonight and it should be a good one. Jason Arnott (leg) is probable while Jordin Tootoo (hip flexor) and Steve Sullivan (back) are both out.

Another game with four point implications for both clubs. Thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning who really came out to manhandle Vancouver the other night in their 4-3 victory against the Canucks and thanks to the Florida Panthers taking the other point away from the Canucks, a win for the Coyotes will have them tied for the eighth spot and they may have sole possession based on overall wins.

Steven Reinprecht and Fredrik Sjostrom both have hat tricks against the Predators this season. Who’s next?

21 seconds elapsed in the first period and Fredrik Modin scored.

Last year, I would have expected to see a complete shut down, but I thought to myself, “Well, we still have 59 minutes to win this thing.” It would be up to them to respond.

Five minutes into the first period, Daniel Carcillo makes a statement and gets into an altercation with Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.

The Coyotes began to work diligently to win the hockey game. Peter Mueller scored on a power play goal and tied the game in the second period only to lose the lead again thanks to a Jason Chimera slap shot that found its way behind Ilya Bryzgalov.

The Blue Jackets led into the third period. The Coyotes had yet to win a game when trailing in the third.

There was a first time for everything.

The Coyotes took over and scored three goals in the third with Mueller’s second of the night, and Vrbata capped it off with an empty netter at the end. The Coyotes snapped the Blue Jackets six-game home winning streak.

The Coyotes answered the bell and started their road trip on a strong note. What I liked is that they never gave up, and that has become their team identity. Last season, when forced to come back multiple times in a hockey game, would be the death knell for the Coyotes and they had all of these high priced guys on the team.

This season, they are hungrier and it is starting to pay off.

At this moment, the Coyotes are in the eighth and final playoff spot. They wanted to accomplish that feat before the All-Star break, but they were one game late. Hopefully, they will keep playing like they have something to prove because it’s not over, but I do like the turnaround.

Tonight, they face the mighty Detroit Red Wings. The last two games against the best team in the NHL have been close ones for these two franchises only to have the elite team execute better at the end. It would be nice to see them try to steal a game.

I did a guest post for Behind the Jersey, a top quality Detroit Red Wings blog. Be sure to check it out.

Game Recaps and other news from the mainstream:

Coyotes Rally Twice Past Blue Jackets
Carcillo Returns for Coyotes
Jackets Can’t Finish the Job, Home Streak Halted

For the first 55 minutes, the Coyotes threw everything they could at the mighty Red Wings and fell short at the end. When Radim Vrbata scored on the penalty shot to go up 2-1, I prepared myself for the barrage of reasons why the Red Wings would lose this game.

Bad officiating, bad ice, bad luck.

Fortunately, those issues, except for the last one, were the same for both sides.

What let the Coyotes down this time is the same message many of us have been repeating all season: specialty teams. The power play has not gotten it done all season and now they are losing games because of it. They had their chances and did not capitalize.

We have read that the Coyotes have been working on their power play over and over again in practice. During the first minute, if they lose the faceoff, they take too much time going down the ice to retrieve the puck. It was clearly evident in the five-on-three chance they had in the second period. Win the face off draw, and you have two shots in those twenty seconds. Instead, they had to waste the time skating down ice to get the puck to reset the power play.

It didn’t happen in that isolated incident; it happened each time they went on the power play. If the opponent cleared the puck, the Coyotes took their sweet time skating down the ice. The power play did not have legs until the final minute where they were able to take quality shots on Osgood (or any goaltender).

Good teams play hard and show good effort – elite teams execute is what I heard last night on the television broadcast, and I couldn’t agree more. Elite teams find ways to win and that is exactly what the Red Wings did.

The Red Wings can thank Chris Osgood for stellar goaltending, but for this game, the Coyotes beat themselves, which is sometimes tougher to take.

The curious issue for me is that the rookies are not the ones making the mental errors. They are playing above themselves and Wayne Gretzky remarked that Joel Perrault was the best player on the ice. The VHS line created chances, Daniel Winnik forechecked hard, and Enver Lisin missed a wide open net. Veterans cash in on those chances – Rookies learn from them.

From his skating and his creativity, Lisin is the most improved player from last year. Now, I understand why the team was so high on this Russian prospect.

However, as it has been for most of the season, the younger players are showing why they were ranked so highly as prospects. Shane Doan has put the team on his back for several games now – the other veteran forwards just have to play better.