Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) USA TODAY Sports
Mike Smith played great all night, but he does more than stop pucks. After Smitty played a puck way out of his crease fans yelled “Stay in your crease Smitty!” I’m glad he didn’t listen. The very next time the Avs cleared on the penalty kill Smitty caught them in a bad change and with a tip Vrbata gave Hanzal a 2 on 1 with Doan who took the puck then tossed back for the easy tap in. 2-0 Coyotes and the HUGE assist by Mike goes uncredited.
Dave Moss made a play that deserves more than just an assist. Clearing his own zone he uses the boards to pass the puck to himself and after gaining the zone helped keep the puck in which led to the ugliest goal of the night when Boyd Gordon flipped a bad angle shot that found it’s way in the back of the net. 3-0 Coyotes but it really wasn’t even that close. First 6 minutes were at such a frenzied pace that I actually felt bad for Varlomov at times with tic tac tape passes that led to shots all over the place. Heck my head was spinning.
Apr. 6, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes forward Chris Conner (14) shoots the puck in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) at Jobing.com Arena. The Coyotes defeated the Avalanche 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
The 4th and final goal sent this game to the 3rd period and the only reason to stay for most was to see if Smitty could secure the shutout. It was scored late 2nd period when on a broken play Ollie the Trolly made a great pass after another from Stone which found Vrbata who is a surgeon when in space and he finds Doan for the 2nd easy tap in of the night and it was turn out the lights.
Fans got the shutout they wanted after a 3rd period of hockey the hard way when the Coyotes go boa constrictor and squeeze the life out of the puck and the opponent.
Everybody HOWL!!!!!