“We’ve got to find a way to close those games out … when you get a 5-1 lead, you should defend it well…[hem] them in, don’t give them a chance to come out. Don’t give them any life.”

Dave Tippett quoted in the Arizona Republic

No kidding.  The Coyotes came out strong as they do on most nights, and find a way to score the first goal.  When they do, their record is just spectacular, second in the league behind New Jersey with 22-2-2.

Four-of-a-kind perhaps.

The current home stand has shown us that certain players are about to wake up.  We have seen a brilliant breakaway goal scored by Peter Mueller against the best goaltender in the league Martin Brodeur, Shane Doan finding a way to score points thanks to an on-ice experiment putting Daniel Winnik and Vernon Fiddler on his line, and Ed Jovanovski opening up for a huge night at a plus-four after serving his time away from the ice due to suspension.

Good stuff all around, really.

The concern though that in this homestand, where they’re 2-1-1, and in the previous six games, Bryzgalov and company have allowed their opposition to score three or more goals per game.   While it’s true that the Coyotes have been lighting the lamp at a high level lately, they are beating themselves if they keep allowing this trend to continue.

Because we know they are a good hockey team, fifth in the conference with 61 points, finding ways to put distance between themselves and those below them, but if they don’t shore up the defense, life will certainly get more difficult.

[sarcasm] I’m also very truly sorry that the rest of the NHL’s fan base hasn’t really caught on to the fact the Coyotes are doing well right now.  It’s a different world for these fans to adjust to and I get it.

[/sarcasm]

Yes Glen, a team can be both dealing with financial issues and a good hockey team, I mean the North Stars are still in Minnesota right?  Oh wait…no…that team won, went to the Stanley Cup playoffs, had an idiot owner, and then the team relocated to Dallas.  Good job there recognizing history.

Yes Glen, keep reminding us what happened this summer.  I trust the guys will give us reasons to cheer and continue to have a good fall and winter.  Besides, how many points have the Wild earned against the Coyotes this season?   Wait for it…zero.  Okay then, have your snark, if that helps you.

Next up is what seems to be an annual visit by the Buffalo Sabres on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  Whether that’s true or not, it just seems like the Coyotes play these guys every year on that day.  However, it will be another difficult test against a very difficult Eastern Conference team who is second in their conference right behind the New Jersey Devils.  They also have an Olympian goaltender in Ryan Miller.

If the Coyotes play their game, play defense to help Bryzgalov out, and if they get the lead and never let go,

then the summer can continue to be a distant memory.

Other views around the media universe?  Take a look:

Coyotes Hold Off Wild in Third, from Arizona Republic

Bid for Second Fairy Tale End Halted by Big Bad Coyotes

Tiny Signs of Life, from Mike Chen’s Hockey Blog

Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes Game Recap, from Hockey Wilderness

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.

Ilya Bryzgalov will obviously get the start, but so far in his career he has yet to win a game against the Wild with a GAA of 3.13 and a save percentage of .892 in four appearances.

The opposing goaltender still looks to be decided. Number one goalie Niklas Backstrom may not get the start today due to his 2-2 record in his past five starts and a 3.40 GAA and a .868 save percentage. Even though the Wild won their game against Detroit 6-5 in the shootout, Backstrom was pulled after allowing four goals.

Josh Harding, meanwhile, came off the bench to enable the Wild to win the game against the Red Wings and earned the victory against the Blackhawks as he faced 43 shots but allowed 41.

Even though Backstrom’s performance has been spotty for the past few games, against Phoenix, he is outstanding as he has posted a 1.17 GAA and a .963 save percentage. Plus, he became a little defensive when asked about his recent struggles and he has yet to lose to the Phoenix Coyotes lifetime.

There is a first time for everything.

After being called out by Jacques Lemaire for his inconsistent performance last week, lately Marian Gaborik has been on a tear. A week ago, he was a minus-8 in seven games after his brilliance against the New York Rangers. For the past three games, it is remarkably different. He has three goals, four assists, a shootout winner, and a plus-7.

Having Gaborik hot right now is not a good thing, especially with the other weapons that the Wild has to beat teams. Gaborik leads the team in goals scored and in points, but Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Brian Rolston, Eric Belanger, Brent Burns, Pavol Dmitra, and Mark Parrish can certainly make life difficult for the Coyotes. Parrish did in the last game as he scored a pivotal goal.

Mikko Koivu has been very good recently as well with points in five of his last seven games.

Shane Doan is on a six-game point streak and Peter Mueller has at least a point in three of the last four games. The Coyotes will need production from everyone tonight, especially from the VHS line as they will need to generate offense against a stingy goaltender.

The Coyotes got another taste of playoff hockey against the Canucks. When allowing the first goal, the Coyotes have been better coming from behind to win games. Clearly, they play better with the lead as their winning percentage is first in the NHL with a 17-1 record when scoring first. However, they can win when the opposition scores first.

Currently, they have six wins when the opposition gets the first goal, but the Wild has five wins in that same statistic. No longer should we think that if the Coyotes let one go by the game is over – if there is time left in the game, they do not give up.

The Wild so far have won both games against the Coyotes, but the Coyotes are capable of winning today’s contest.