One Fan's Perspective

The Coyotes have an opportunity to take a commanding hold of this series tonight. Hopefully, it will be the last time they see someone throw that jelly fish at that arena.

I do expect classless fans to throw one at Jobing.com arena though. Why? Because most fans of the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin that live here have no class. It’s that team or nothing. I feel sorry for them actually living in such misery. Hopefully, no one will have a coronary.

It is undecided on Shane Doan’s return. But Fiddler will be back, which is a good thing if you are a fan of face off wins, solid defense, and players who win puck battles. I know I am.

I’m also a fan of good goaltending. Thanks to Iyla Bryzgalov the Coyotes are here showing the National Hockey League that hockey works in the desert. The NHL saw it too and nominated him for the Vezina. He credits his teammates – that’s why his teammates block all those shots, like Fiddler, and Michalek.

The bottom line is that the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin were outworked and outplayed on Sunday. Even the coach said so. He knows what he’s up against, even if his players, his fans, or his media don’t.

If they didn’t try hard enough, and I can’t imagine why, it’s like the playoffs, how can this legendary franchise from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin not play up to the caliber of their opponent? Oh, wait, because they don’t think the Coyotes are any good. So I’ll wager that they’ll play extra hard tonight.

They might over compensate for their shortcomings. It happens.

We’re at game four, a huge opportunity for the desert dogs. My work day ends earlier than most, so I’ll be parked in front of my television at 3:30pm. Hope you will be too.

Game on.

#ThrowTheSnake

What I’ve Read Around Cyberspace:

From the Detroit Free Press

• Coyotes’ Shane Doan, Vernon Fiddler might play in Game 4
• Wings’ Jimmy Howard scrutinized by media after loss
• Wanted for Red Wings: Offensive rebounds
• Down a game, Wings confident before tonight’s match
• Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom: Not what he used to be?
• Red Wings not looking good, and Coyotes are to blame

From MLive.com :

• Defenseman Brian Rafalski good to go for Red Wings in Game 4
• Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard uses Chris Osgood’s advice, shakes off Game 3 loss

From CANOE Sports:

• These Wings are cool

From ESPN:

• A must-win already in Detroit? Believe it

From The Sporting News:

• Wings, Coyotes both know the race is far from over

From The Globe and Mail:

• No panic yet in Hockeytown

Tags: Uncategorized // Add Comment »

It looked dismal.  First, Fiddler is out with an upper body injury.

Then, Shane Doan avoids the goaltender (instead of taking the cheap way out and sliding into him) smashes into the boards and doesn’t come back.

The team could have folded like a cheap card table.  Instead, they outplay the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin and take home ice advantage back.

I’ve written several times before that the team’s identity goes through Shane Doan.  As he goes, the Coyotes go.  But this time was different.  This time the Coyotes emerged.

And the team from the mid-western state East of Wisconsin didn’t know what to do, especially when the one-man wrecking crew wasn’t there any longer.  Instead of fighting back, they took a soft-skating approach.

Yeah, I told you these guys weren’t tough.  Because of their lack of tactics, they allowed the Coyotes to dig in and rip them apart.

It’s the lack of respect thing I wrote earlier.  Yeah boys, you didn’t listen to your coach.  Please continue doing that – it’s awesome.

There is a reason though that the Coyotes did not panic.  From late January Doan couldn’t buy a goal or a vowel.  Nothing worked and the monkey on his back starting turning into King Kong.  Do the Coyotes lose (because remember, the team goes as Doan goes)?

No, they still won games.  Today they remembered, and they won.

There is still a threat and a price that was paid for the Coyotes physical play on the ice.  Hopefully, if they played within themselves, they had a chance.

And they did.  With the playoff drought ending, Doan gave up his body for his team, so that they can win.  So we can believe.

They need to recognize what he did and hope he is on the ice sooner rather than later.  I sure hope he is – it will be a damn shame if he can’t go another game because he sacrificed more than enough.

To see another playoff run.

I’ll read articles about the game later and post them here when I do.  I’m going back and watching that game again.

Oh  before I leave though, you know the jelly fish we saw on the ice at the beginning of the game?  And the guy that picks it up with his hands and swings it around his head?  Yeah,  I saw you drop it – I told you they sting.

Oh another thing…I read some comments on some blogs about how they loved seeing the fair weather fans of Phoenix leave when their team was losing 6 or 7-4?  Yeah, I saw you leave too when your team was only down two goals.

Fair weather fans indeed.

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Shane Doan, Stanley Cup Playoffs // 1 Comment »

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:

• Phoenix Coyotes want to ruin Detroit Red Wings’ day

• Phoenix Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov not looking back to Game 2 defeat to Detroit Red Wings

• NBC’s Mike Emrick to call Phoenix Coyotes’ 1st national TV appearance

From the Detroit Free Press:

• Jimmy Howard’s wing man: Chris Osgood helps fellow goalie through playoffs

• Red Wings seemed more inspired, intense in Game 2

• Home is where you hear ‘Hey Hey Hockeytown’

• Red Wings’ goal for Game 3: Tighter defense

From Five for Howling:

• Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit Red Wings – Game Three Preview – Detroit Snake City

From The Good, the Bad, the Coyotes:

• Comeback Coyotes

From The Toronto Star:

• Justin Abdelkader pays dividends for Wings

From MLive.com:

• Jimmy Howard’s enjoying his time in the Red Wings’ playoff crease thanks to Chris Osgood’s mentorship

• For Red Wings and Coyotes, the hate is on

• Red Wing seize momentum in series vs. Coyotes with ‘real team effort’

From The Montreal Gazette:

• Coyotes’ run is no shock to fan

From The Detroit News:

• Red Wings fight back against Coyotes, turn series into best-of-five

From The Toronto Sun:

• Game 3 test for Coyotes: How will Phoenix handle the pressure?

From The CBC:

• Bertuzzi, Jovanovski joust

From The Globe and Mail:

• There’s no place like home for Wings

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Stanley Cup Playoffs // 2 Comments »