Coyotes Roam in Philadelphia
The Phoenix Coyotes continue their Eastern conference swing into Philadelphia as they take on the Flyers. The Coyotes have won three of their last four games and the Flyers have lost three of the last four, one of the losses coming in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Both teams have speed and both teams are young, so the game should have a quick pace to it. Four Flyers are in the double digits with goals. Mike Richards leads his team with 15, followed by Danny Briere, Joffrey Lupul, and Mike Knuble.
The line I’m watching for the Coyotes: Radim Vrbata – Martin Hanzal – Fredrik Sjostrom. They have a nickname now as they are dubbed the VHS line, as Heath Price-Khan points out from Coyotes.com.
They have certainly earned those accolades as Vrbata, Hanzal, and Sjostrom have been on a tear as of late, especially with the last two games as they have 12 points and are a plus-12. I figure that Sjostrom will do everything he can to stay in the lineup now.
The Flyers are a prolific goal scoring team that are fourth in the league with 97 goals scored. They average just over 3 goals per game. In contrast, the Coyotes are 22nd in the league.
Phoenix ranks just above the Philadelphia in goals allowed with 85, which makes them 14th in the league. Philadelphia is 17th as they have allowed 88. Defensively, both teams are close, but offensively they have been far apart.
The Flyers flip a switch in the second period as they lead the league in goals scored. By contrast, the second period is the worst for the Flyers in giving up goals with 39. The goals scored/goals against differential makes the team a plus-6 in the second, but they break down defensively. They can score the goals when needed though, and that is what makes them so dangerous.
What about Phoenix? In terms of goals against, they have given up 26 each period and lately they have been getting stronger as the game goes on with the the third period being the most productive for the Coyotes.
When the Coyotes score first, they are sixth in the league with wins. When their opponents score first, it is a much different story as they are 2-15. Getting behind does not work for this club, and that tendency has followed them around.
The knock on the Flyers as of late has been their consistency. No one is quite sure which team will show up – the high flying, high octane scoring machine, or the team that has mental breakdowns in games that their opponents sense and take over.
The Flyers are physical bunch, and the Coyotes must use their speed to control the pace of the game. It won’t be an easy feat as the Flyers are just as fast.
It should be a great game to watch and the Valley will have its tandem of Dave Strader and Darren Pang along with Todd Walsh back on the air again. The New York media has been very complimentary of this young team and they have seen a lot of promise. Whether they were being nice to Wayne Gretzky or not, it doesn’t matter. They were clear on who outworked the local teams of the Devils and the Rangers, and they gave the credit solely to the Coyotes.
Al Trautwig of MSG Network was very critical as to why FSN Arizona did not show such an important game here in the Valley as General Manager Don Maloney, coaches Wayne Gretzky and Ulf Samuelsson are former New York Rangers. I fully agree with Trautwig.
Blogs to watch from the Flyers: FlyerFlies.com, Flyers Fan Central, and Battle of Pennsylvania.
