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Two Wins and We're Still Boring? |
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Stand back conspiracy theorists. Shit just got real. The Coyotes win 5-3 to put themselves up by two in the series. Where is the low scoring match-up? Where are the -7 goals per game? Right where the mainstream media put it, up their ass. So bloody boring these games are. My goodness. Last I talk of that aspect.
Alright lets end that rant and get on to what was a great game. The Coyotes played a style I haven’t seen since February. Pure forecheck with a lovely sprinkle of speed. One of the few ways to beating the Preds is to capitalize on their lesser pairs and utilize speed; Dave Tippett knows this and has exploited it. For the most part the Coyotes had most of the dominant possession at 5 on 5, an area Nashville has excelled at.
It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, and Mike Smith looked pretty human. Luckily Rinne looked terrible, the Vezina candidate made bad decisions, overplayed the puck several times and if not for his amazing athleticism would have let in around two more goals. Give him all the credit in there world, not many can over-commit five feet then 360 barrel roll to make a save in the splits. Smith however did clean up one area of his game missing in the first one. He managed to control the puck better, avoiding the sloppy plays/mistakes. He also battled harder in front of the net. This wasn’t a masterpiece and probably his worst performance thus far, but look at it objectively and laugh it off. His worst is most goalies best.
The injured reserve is back and in big force. Martin Hanzal is back. His speed is back, his strength is back and his timely plays are back. This was the pre-injury Hanzal the team has needed. He was great defensively despite some amazing icings at the end of the game, plus he drove the net with authority and more importantly won the board battles. That is above all else his job. Radim Vrbata added another goal and an assist. His speed has been there but not this kind of penetration. This series he is finding himself in scoring areas and getting off some great shots. Looks like that allergy is wearing off at last and he can grip his stick.
Lauri Korpikoski missed the game. He was a last minute scratch and it seems that “upper body” injury is still ailing him. I think he has been effectively replaced if not more so by Mikkel Boedker, but he is still a great player to have. Nashville went 2-2 on the PP with him gone; probably more of coincidence, but he’s usually out there for 4-5 minutes. Michal Rozsival was also absent, probably some discomfort from the hit by Jimmy Hayes. Schlemko looked decent in replacing him.
Time for my Debby Downer Moment: A lot of fans rag on me for my constant need to point out flaws. Well I do, and this is why I’ll never have a wife. Tonight I felt the biggest upset was the PK. They looked out of sync. I’ll credit the Preds for their excellent puck movement and use of screens, but we saw that in the last series to no avail. It is a blemish on an otherwise great performance and one I know Tippett will be raging at in the room. As for my earlier joking elusion, a lot of obstruction by the Preds went undetected including about 3 “normal” penalties that would have been called on Shea Weber. I don’t really care because I know refs are human and they will balls it up, but for my favourite conspiracy nuts out there, watch the game. As a leveling statement I'll give you the goalie interference if you can give me the look on Legwand's face when he screwed poor Rinne there.
Rostislav Klesla might be the least lucky man in the playoffs. He has been hit hard about 7 times, but always come back to hit just as hard. He has enjoyed his best offensive output since his days in junior. Yet he has a massive bruise just under his eye and is missing 6 teeth all on clean plays. That sucks. He has come on as the second best defenceman for Phoenix, only behind OEL. He has played that perfect role of moderately physical, yet positionally great defenceman that every team needs. I hope he can come back and actually play next game without…I don’t know, having his eyebrows cut off by blocking a shot. He’s a warrior and deserves all the praise.
Antoine Vermette has been great. I got a piece for tomorrow on Don Maloney that will illustrate this more, but man has he ever stepped up. Another goal of the timely variety, another assist, another face-off domination, plus he did the splits on a jump screen.
Keith Yandle and Derek Morris together had a great game. They have been losing headlines and falling behind some new shadows lately, but had a very solid outing. I was pretty happy to see two elements of their games show up. Morris had a great shot that resulted in a tip by Doan. His offence has dried up since coming back to the desert, but he was once known as a purely offensive style dman. As for Yandle he has continued his great play in the playoffs. He added another two assists and one was an absolute beauty to set up the Vermette goal. Yandle has 7 assists in 8 games so far.
The Coyotes have been a much better team on the road then at home, yet here they stand up a commanding 2-0 lead. Will their trend of spoiling homecomings continue? Does it need to? If they can take one in Nashville I think they have it down pat. This team has way too much tenacity and adrenaline to be slowed by anything but a sheer blowout.
Thanks for reading.
Follow me on Twitter @AdamFrenchReal
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