It’s over halfway through the season for the Arizona Coyotes, but they’re still struggling with the issues that they’ve been talking about all season. A 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night was just another reminder that the team’s struggle to get wins just can’t seem to end.
Goaltending switch-up
After Mike Smith was given the opportunity to start for the past four games, going 2-2, Devan Dubnyk was given the chance to redeem himself from the last time he was in net. Dubnyk has been sitting the bench since the Coyotes 6-0 loss to the Dallas Stars on New Years Eve, so he was hungry for a win.
Over a period of 19 games, Dubnyk has gone 9-5-2. His only really consecutive streak was in December, where Dubnyk was in between the pipes the majority of the time, leading up to the December 31st loss.
“It was great, it felt good and better as the game went on too. It’s just a disappointing finish.” Dubnyk said on getting the start. “I felt really good in the third period and to have a bounce like that go in… it’s just a frustrating win.”
Last time the Coyotes played in San Jose, Dubnyk blocked 40 out of 43 shots (3 in SO) against the Sharks. Last night, he blocked 22 out of 25 shots, but his effort was there. A couple of bad lies for the puck, such as it careening off of Zbynek Michalek’s skate and giving San Jose the lead. It wasn’t a horrible game, but we’ll see if he will get the chance against the Calgary Flames on Thursday or if Smith will.
“We absolutely played a great hockey game, there was just a disappointing bounce on the game winner.” Said Dubnyk. “It was just frustrating. It’s an unfortunate bounce and I don’t need to say much more.”
Boedker creating vital offense
The past three games have all started out in a similar fashion. Coyotes top goal scoring forward Mikkel Boedker put Arizona on the board for the third game in a row. Leading up to, and just after the goal, he was tied to an interesting statistic: Boedker had a goal streak of four goals on his past four shots in a span of three games. Apparently the goal scorer doesn’t need to make a lot of shots during a game, just one’s that count.
“It just bounced in the wrong ring. We just need to keep working at it and keep doing the things we’re doing.” Boedker said when sharing thoughts about the teams play against the Sharks. “We keep getting chances and opportunities and if we keep doing that for a long period of time it will start falling in for us.”
He’s first in the club this year with scoring, and is second to Antoine Vermette for overall points. His production has kept the Coyotes in games, and he’s been a vital piece of their offense.
“Everybody has to contribute and we haven’t been doing that on the power-play obviously.” Said Boedker on the team.”We are on the ice for a reason and Tippett trusts us and feels like we can score goals for us, we’ve done it in the past and I think we’ve done really well overall.”
Special teams spotlight
The outcome of every game recently has been reflective of how the special teams played. Some games, they are producing a lot on the power play, and some they aren’t getting anything. Some nights their penalty kill is nearly flawless, and others they can’t see to get by without allowing the opposition to score on them.
Last night, while it wasn’t extreme, it was a sure mix of both. They weren’t able to produce the three times they were put on the power play. That could’ve been a game changer, considering one bad bounce for the Coyotes lead to a San Jose game winning goal. Tough breaks have been a theme for the team this year, and it hasn’t seemed to stop.
“When your power play doesn’t score and you give up one, that’s the difference in the game.” Said coach Dave Tippett about the power play inability.
Even if your penalty kill is strong, it doesn’t mean you should continue to get unnecessary penalties. In the past five games, they’ve accumulated a total of 24 penalties. Putting your team, more specifically your goaltender, in compromising positions is not what a struggling team needs to do. The team needs to clean up their game all around instead of getting messy penalties that ends up leading to the opponents benefit. San Jose only scored one on the power play last night, but overall their penalty kill statistically looks rough.
“We took some unfortunate penalties… the one at the end of the second is one of those shoot it over those boards one.” Said Tippett.”When your margin for error is very thin, the way to give yourself the chance to win is discipline and doing the right things more often than not.”
Thoughts from the coach
“I thought the effort was excellent, I thought we competed hard. We came up a little short on a goal that went off our toe so it was an unfortunate break. There are little things that happen during a game… the more things like that that we can clean up with that kind of effort, it will give us a better chance to win.” -Dave Tippett, Coyotes head coach.
Things to know
Martin Hanzal has been placed on the injured reserve for his upper body injury . He’s missed three games going.
Brandon McMillan and Chris Summers both put on waivers Tuesday afternoon. They played the game Tuesday night, and have yet to clear waivers (Today at 10 a.m. deadline). If they clear, they will most likely be sent to the American Hockey League so the Coyotes can have team flexibility.
Coyotes go up against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, January 15th for their last home game against them this season. Game starts at 7 p.m. at Gila River Arena. It’s also the teams last home game until February 5th.
The New York Islanders are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference. The team just completed a stretch of 7 road games, ending with a 5 and 2 record for the trip. The team started off against Winnipeg and Calgary, winning 5-2 and 2-1 respectively. The team then struggled a bit as they fell to both, Edmonton (5-2) and Vancouver (3-2). The team was fortunate enough to come back to the east coast and have two off days, and being able to practice at home at their practice facility, Ice Works, in Syosset, New York before taking on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center last Friday night. Fans and the team alike recognized that it was a “must win”. The team had lost two in a row, and would need this game to give them the momentum to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets and more importantly, division rivals, the New York Rangers.
The Islanders managed to pull out a W in overtime over the Devils. Captain John Tavares had a three point night with one assist and two goals, one of which was the game winner. The following night the team was in Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets, with backup goaltender Chad Johnson in net. A 5-2 victory over Columbus came as a relief as Johnson’s goaltending has been spotty at best in the few starts he has had with the team this season. The momentum from back to back wins propelled the team into last night’s match up against long time division rivals, the New York Rangers. This was the last of the games between the two teams to take place on Rangers home ice for the season.
Over the span of the road trip, the team overall played a fast and offense-strong style of hockey. That being said, the team does a fantastic job of not relying too heavily on their top line. John Tavares is a super star player, and Kyle Okposo is constantly finding ways to take shots on net, however, they are not the end all be all for the team’s goal tally. This is one of the strengths of this new, younger, faster Islanders team. The team’s first home game since December 29th is this Friday at 7:00 PM as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two teams have been neck in neck to take possession of first place in the division for most of the season.
It was just Tuesday night that Devan Dubnyk was doing the press rounds after Arizona Coyotes 3-2 loss, with Dubnyk in goal.
With the Coyotes awfully close to the bottom of the team rankings, it’s come as no surprise that they would start to shake things up and make the necessary changes. So Wednesday when a trade ensued between Minnesota and Arizona, it certainly wasn’t a bombshell.
Wednesday afternoon, the Coyotes announced that Devan Dubnyk was traded to the Minnesota Wild for a third-round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Dubnyk signed a one year deal in the 2014 offseason with Arizona, so this upcoming offseason he would be an unrestricted free agent. So chances are, he would have parted ways with the club anyways.
Maloney: “Devan was terrific for us. He was a good player, played very well. Nothing about him or his play we didn’t like.”
Dubnyk was 9-5-2 for the Coyotes this season, registering a .916 save percentage and a 2.72 goals against average. His first matchup against Arizona will be as soon as this upcoming Saturday.
So adding to the waiving of Chris Summers and Brandon McMillan, there’s obviously moves being made for the Coyotes to try to salvage what is still left of their disappointing season.
The Lightning got a welcome surprise when they found out two of their forwards were going to be representing the team in the All-Star game in Columbus, Ohio. After a two year delay, thanks to the lockout and the Olympics, the Blue Jackets are finally getting to host the All-Star weekend at Nationwide Arena between January 23-January 25, 2015.
Team captain Steven Stamkos will be playing in his third (2011, 2012) All-Star game and Tyler Johnson will be making his first appearance during his second professsional year. As an added bonus, Jonathan Drouin will be one of six rookies to play in the NHL All-Star Competition on Saturday, January 24.
The Atlantic Division leading Lightning will see multiple All-Stars represented for the sixth time in franchise history. The last time this happened was during the 2010-11 season when Stamkos and Martin St. Louis were honored.
It is no surprise that Stamkos, the number one pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, will be playing in his third All-Star game. The twenty-four year old has won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy twice (2009-2010, 2011-2o12). Unfortunately, a broken right tibia forced him to be sidelined for not only 45 regular sesason games last season, but the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In his first game back he was named 10th captain in Lightning franchise history after Martin St. Louis got traded to the New York Rangers.
For Johnson, also 24, the selection to the All-Star game was not as much of a given. Four years ago he was an undrafted free agent from Spokane, Washington. He made his NHL debut late in the 2012-2013 season, and was candidate for rookie of the year, along with fellow Bolt, Ondrej Palat, at the end of last season. Both lost to Avalanche rookie, Nathan MacKinnon.
Jonathan Drouin, 19, will be playing in his first All-Star Skills Competition as one of the rookies. Selected third overall in the 2013 Entry Draft, he currently ranks fourth among the rookies with two goals and 15 assists.
The All-Star Weekend starts on January 23rd with the DraftKings Fantasy Draft (8:00 PM ET on NBCSN). The following evening is the All-Star Skills Competition (7:00 PM ET NBCSN) and on Sunday afternoon (5:00 PM NBCSN) is the All-Star game.
Coburn suffered the injury after blocking a shot late in the first period of a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The shot went off of his left foot, which was the same one that he broke on opening night after blocking a shot against the Boston Bruins. He was wearing a skate guard this time, but caught the puck on the inside of his foot. He missed 12 games due to the broken foo earlier this season. The Flyers are also without defenseman Nicklas Grossmann, who was injured after being hit by Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals. Steve Mason, the Flyers number one goalie, is also out two weeks after he suffered what appeared to be a knee injury.
Coburn has one goal, five assists, six points, is a minus one and averages 20:01 of ice time per game in 31 games played. He plays at even strength and on the penalty kill. The defenseman has played better at home than on the road this season, at least that’s what the numbers indicate. In 13 games played at the Wells Fargo Center, he has one goal, three assists, four points and is a plus three. In 18 road games played, the defenseman has zero goals, two assists, two points, and is a minus four. All six of his points have come at even strength.
He averages 3:02 of ice time on the Flyers penalty kill unit, which has really struggled this season. It was thought that once Coburn came back from his injury earlier this season that he would be able to help the struggling penalty kill, but that hasn’t been the case. He is a decent skater and has the ability to be a shutdown defender even though he’s prone to at least one costly misplay per game. The Flyers will probably miss his ability to log a lot of minutes during games the most. Coburn is on the ice a lot, but his point shots don’t exactly hit the net, most of the time.
Coburn’s replacement in the lineup will be Carlo Colaiacovo. He was signed in October when both Coburn and fellow defenseman, Andrew MacDonald, went down with injuries. He had only played in five games before the Flyers got back their defensemen. In those five games played, he had zero points, two assists, two points and was a plus two. The Flyers went two and three in the five games in which he played in.
Colaiacovo plays a sound positional game and can move the puck. It wouldn’t be surprising if Craig Berube paired him with Luke Schenn. They had played together while both were playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and seem to have developed some chemistry. The bad thing about pairing these two together is that they both make mistakes in their own end. If they are paired together than Luke Schenn could play the physical game he needs to be successful and Colaiacovo would be there to support him.
The Flyers are fighting an uphill battle to just try and get into a playoff spot, and the injuries to this team just keep piling up.
The Ontario Reign ended their two-week back-to-back games against the Bakersfield Condors on a good note. On Jan. 7, they defeated the Condors 5-1 and then beat them 3-2 in a shootout exactly a week later. So far for the first month of the year, the Reign has been looking great winning all four games so far. They got the ball rolling early so if they can keep it going for the rest of the month, spring will be a piece of cake for them.
Jan. 7 win
Whatever the Reign decided had to be different for 2015 worked. They dominated the first period against the Condors and didn’t even have the chance to give any mercy in time. Ontario’s Judd Blackwater kicked off the scoring at just 0:12 of the first period and got a power-play goal not long after at 2:52 to put the Reign at an early 2-0 lead.
Bakersfield started trying to hold their own with their only goal of the night at 7:27 from Josh Currie. He passed the puck right through Jussi Olkinuora and diminished anymore hopeful chances of a shutout but that wasn’t it. Reign’s Geoff Walker increased their lead by one when he buried the puck into the net at 15:57 and gave a final score of 3-1 for first period. Condors goalie Frans Tuohimaa was done for the night and Ty Rimmer came in to take over for the rest of the night.
The second period went scoreless for both teams. Both Olkinuora and Tuohimaa knew they had to hold on as long as possible as it wasn’t going to be an easy night. Kyle Bigos kept the Reign’s lead going in the third period with a two-on-one situation with Rocco Carzo. His wrist shot sped past Rimmer at 14:01 and it gave him his first goal of the season. Blackwater finalized the “W” for Ontario with his third goal of the night at 14:48 and earned his third career ECHL hat trick. Olkinuora deserved the win with 32 saves while Tuohimaa took the loss with six saves and Rimmer with 13.
Jan. 14 win
After having a week off, a shootout isn’t the most desirable way to go but the Reign came out on top once again despite the very slow night. The first period almost went scoreless after having to kill three penalties until Gasper Kopitar snapped the puck past Rimmer at 19:12.
Both teams struggled during the second period again but Reign goalie Joe Cannata kept Bakersfield out long enough to keep their small lead alive. The third period was the Condors’ time to shine as Joe Marciano shot and scored at 8:52 and Sebastien Sylvestre came in with another quick goal at 9:19 to tie up the game.
Overtime was unsuccessful as no team scored and the always dreaded shootout was forced. Sylvestre and Kopitar both scored for their teams in the first two rounds and both goalies weren’t going to give in. It wasn’t until the sixth round when Robert Czarnik scored the game winner right past Rimmer. This gave the Reign their sixth straight victory and hopefully the start to an even longer winning streak.
Full speed ahead
The Ontario Reign don’t have time to just sit back and rest yet even though they’ve been doing exceptionally well lately. They have a back-to-back weekend duo against the Idaho Steelheads this weekend then one game against the Utah Grizzlies next week before they get a mini break again.
Foligno, 27, of Buffalo, NY, is in his third season with Columbus, but his eighth in the NHL. This year, he is leading the Blue Jackets in goals, with 18 (tied at 12th in the league), and points, 40 (tied at 15th in the league). He’s tied at third in the league with power play points, 20, and power play goals, nine.
Toews is making his fourth All-Star game appearance. At 26, the Winnipeg, Manitoba, native has two gold medals and two Stanley Cup wins under his belt, and is second in goals (13), assists (25), and points (38) on the Blackhawks this year. He’s also a plus-15 on the ice, 17th in the league.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s not something I expected,” Toews told local media. “It’s definitely an honor, so it’s going to be fun sitting across from Kaner. I’m sure the competition is starting already to see what’s going to happen.”
Kane delayed choosing Toews in the last All-Star game, but ultimately the two played on the same team.
Toews will have his pick of a few other Blackhawks–and only one has made any pleas so far, he said.
“Only Seabs. He said, ‘Just make sure I don’t get picked last,'” Toews told press. “I don’t think it’s really fun for the guy who gets picked last, and I don’t think anyone means that personally to that guy. But I mean, I’ll be 100 percent honest, I wouldn’t like to get picked last. I don’t think Kaner would, either. So, that’s the unfortunate thing. Other than that, I think it’s a fun thing. We’ll try to make the best of it and make sure whoever it is doesn’t feel slighted by any means.”
Blue Jackets executive vice president of business operations, Larry Hoepfner, said festivities begin with an All-Star Winter Park across from Nationwide Arena Jan. 16-25.
Beyond the game and skills competition are public skating and private events at the Winter Park, a 34-foot high and 85-foot wide snow slide stretching 175 feet along Nationwide Boulevard for use Jan. 22-25, and a “Hockey House,” with family-friendly activities, food, drinks, and live music.
All-Star weekend will begin with the DraftKings Fantasy Draft at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT Friday, Jan. 23 to complete the rosters. It will be televised on NBCSN in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and TVASports.
On Saturday, Jan. 24, the All-Stars and rookies will participate in the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition at7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA Sports.
Puck-drop for the All-Star game is set for 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. CT Sunday, Jan. 25 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, and will be broadcast on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA Sports.
Heading into the 2014 NHL Draft, David Pastrnak was a player who was all over the board. I ended up ranking him as the 28th best player in my eyes. As it turns out I was pretty close since the Boston Bruins drafted him 25th overall.
I didn’t rank him higher because other players got better in my eyes, he didn’t get any worse, he just fell into that slot for me. So I knew the Bruins got themselves a terrific player and I felt if he could play in the minors that would help his overall game and acclimate him to North American ice. Clearly the Bruins thought that was the best route for him as well. I think that was the plan all along. It’s easier to keep an eye on a player in the states as opposed to Sweden where he played the previous season.
I was tracking his progress in Providence and knew he wasn’t long for that league. He was more than a point-per-game player and he got his NHL debut on November 24th. After that he had the usual ups and downs of an 18-year-old and he was lent to the Czech Republic to represent his country in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship which took place the end of December into the first week of January.
Here’s a portion of my scouting report of him heading into the big tourney.
Right-handed shot. Can score at even strength. Good skater. Can be dangerous with the puck on the PK as well.
When the Czech Republic was eliminated from the tournament the negative reviews rolled in. Some members of the media focused on his plus/minus in his last game instead of looking at the team picture. Bad coaching, bad game plan. Players who were focused on making highlight reel plays instead of playing as a team. Lots of one-off shots with no rebounds. That was the real story but I liked what I saw out of the kid. He had seven points in five games.
David Pastrnak
On January 6th the Bruins recalled him but gave him a view from the press box. Then on the 8th he found himself on the bench and on the ice. Little did anybody know that on a Saturday matinee game in Philadelphia the youngster would shine. He would become the Bruins’ best player on the ice and had his first two goals, missing a hat trick chance when his third hit an empty net just after the final buzzer. Still he had his first two career NHL goals against a Flyers team who were looking better heading into that game. The rookie gave his team the kick in the pants that CEO, Charlie Jacobs, was looking for when he put the team on notice just two days before.
“It was something new – a new feeling. It was nice, I can’t describe it,” he said smiling. “The first one was I think was taken in their zone in the power play. We had a few shots. Then Torey [Krug] got a great shot and I got a rebound and I just tried to hit the puck. Then the second one was three against two and I drove the puck to David [Krejci] and moved my skates where the puck went and we found the right pass and it wasn’t hard after that.”
His next game, on Tuesday when the Bruins hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning, he scored another two goals, again as a top liner with Brad Marchand and Krejci. So far, so good. But he’s 18 and things will get hard for him at some point so he may be sent down to the AHL again. I wouldn’t be surprised though if he sticks with the team through the rest of the season.
Bruins fans should be happy either way. Peter Chiarelli and his staff made another terrific selection. Don’t be seduced by the early returns, be encouraged and enjoy the ride.
This past week being so go-go-go has really taken a toll on me. Four games in the last week is fantastic, but it’s also very demanding. That being said, last night I was pretty dang tired and my outfit is boring, yet again.
As per usual, I had the perfect idea of an outfit in my head, and because nothing can go right when in a rush, it didn’t work out (It was way too “boxy” according to my roommate…I agreed).
My go-to lately has been leather jackets. I feel like you can’t have too many, and you can’t go wrong with them. They kind of go with everything and they’re relatively sensible. So excuse me for all of the black lately, but that’s just my favorite thing to throw on.
My peep-toe booties were one of my most recent purchases and they are so comfortable. They’re Kristin Cavallari for Chinese Laundry and they were the best addition to my shoe collection. They keep my feet so warm too, which is weird especially for peep-toes!
Press Level Tip: After a long day, sometimes I just need to throw my hair up. I’ve learned from past mistakes, and I now throw a pack of rubber bands and bobbi pins in my media bag. I have this crazy theory that when I’m fatigued, no amount of under eye concealer can help me out, and wearing my hair down makes me look absolutely exhausted. When I’m shocked at my reflection in the mirror during my bathroom break at intermission, throwing my hair up is my best bet.
Most items today do not last long. You use them for a short period of time and then they break or they are out dated. But, there are some things that enhance with age. They shine better, glide faster and make goals just a bit easier. It’s hard to explain a well used piece of equipment but you know when you have one.
Take the oldest known hockey stick on earth. It was sold to a museum recently for the awesome sum of $300,000 on the East Coast of Canada.
Picture a boy, William Moffatt, who was born around 1829 picking up his new stick. He would have been younger than 10 years old when someone took a single tree branch and shaped it into a one-of-a-kind hockey stick. It was in the early 19th Century when William actually carved his initials on the blade.
In 2008, Mark Presley found the stick in a shop and paid $1,000 for it. The Moffatt family kept the stick in their barber shop from the time when it was used no more to when Presley saw it. It was made for Presley to see the stick and buy it. It was made in hockey heaven! The museum that paid for it was not the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was a local museum that bought the stick and it will end up in the Canadian Museum of Civilization. So that’s how you get in, just be over 200 years old and still look good! When Presley started to research the hockey stick he found that it was made near Cape Breton in Canada on the East Coast. He met with William Moffatt’s 92-year-old grandson. He told Presley tales about his granddad playing hockey on a few frozen local ponds.
In 2001, another hockey stick was put on eBay. It was an Alexander Rutherford Hockey Stick made in 1852. It sold for the grand price of $2.2 million.
I bet there are a few hockey sticks lying around in people’s basements or backyards. With a little spit and shine, these timeless pieces can lie in a place of honor or be used in the game they were designed to play.
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