Arizona Coyotes vs Florida Panthers: Five things you missed

So I apologize for taking so long to get this up. I either have strep throat or Ebola- it’s definitely one of the two. It’s whatever, there’s no blood coming out of my eyeballs so I should be good to go by the Tampa Bay game.

ANYWAY.

The Coyotes triumphed 2-1 over the Florida Panthers in overtime, allowing the Atlantic Division franchise to take home a point but failing to worsen their 2-2-1 record any more than it already kind of stunk. Things are turning around for the Coyotes as the season progresses, and this is nothing but good news.

Here’s what you should take away from the game as a whole-

1. Chemistry is key.

The Coyotes are one of the teams that has continued to look better with every passing game, showing that chemistry might even be more important than talent in the long run. Just take a look at the Boston Bruins, the New York Rangers, and the Edmonton Oilers– all teams that have started to click as the weeks have gone by, and it’s paying off.

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The most notable offensive ‘click”we saw during this game was Sam Gagner on the power play, who notched his first point of the season with his assist on Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s goal. I would give you the most notable ‘click’ on defense, but the whole back end of the team has been getting better as a collective group. I like what I’m seeing.

2. Justin Hodgman

How about Justin Hodgman?? Called up relatively last-minute by the Coyotes from the Portland Pirates, Hodgman scored his first career NHL goal in his first career NHL game, tying up the score at 1-1 in the middle of the third period.

Many players who have Hodgman’s level of talent (he could easily find himself graduating to the team’s third line in the long run, if not the second) would be petulant and upset about being reassigned to the team’s AHL squad when they very clearly had the talent to play on the team. Moving the forward down to Portland, though, gave him the chance to utilize his time playing top minutes instead of sitting in the press box as the healthy scratch or skating out on the fourth line- so when Hanzal and Moss both went down, he was in good playing condition to step in and be a game changer.

His enthusiasm warms my heart and makes me all tickly inside. I’d like to see more of him this season.

3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson in overtime

I’ve spent a lot of time complaining about how OEL hasn’t played up to par thus far this season, but he reminds us all why he’s on his way to being an elite defender when he scores the game-winning goal twice in the first two weeks of a season. While regulation play can’t be overlooked, it’s how a player capitalizes on opportunities when they matter most that truly defines them- and that’s what Ekman-Larsson does. One overtime winner means you’re good- two mean’s you’re developing a pattern and establishing value.

Oct 25, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) and Florida Panthers left wing Sean Bergenheim (20) collide while going for the puck during the third period at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

4. Mike Smith vs Roberto Luongo

I still think that Devan Dubnyk is going to get ample playing time this season, but Smith has started to get his game back. He went without being scored on for the first forty minutes of the game, which certainly isn’t bad.

Roberto Luongo still managed to stop about twice as many pucks as Smith did, but that says more good things about the team’s defense- and how often the Coyotes were in possession overall- than it does about the comparison between the two netminders. Hopefully, this is simply a sign that Smith has finally shaken off whatever was plaguing him to start the season, and can move forward in a positive way.

5. Penalties and the Coyotes’ game outcome

This was one of those games where drawn penalties benefited the Coyotes more than anything else. They managed to score twice on the power play, and only had two goals overall.

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That’s right- that means that the team exclusively scored while on the one-man advantage.

This says nothing but good things about the team’s power play unit, but we all knew that. The problem here? The team isn’t as strong on even strength. Sounds like a dumb thing to say, but the Panthers aren’t an elite team- they’re desperate to become competitive once again, and are probably much easier to draw penalties from as a result. The team needs to be able to capitalize on 5-v-5 stretches as effectively as they can on 5-v-4 periods.

Thinking back to the game against the Minnesota Wild, the Coyotes have a clear disadvantage against the teams that know how to avoid being drawn into dumb penalties. I love seeing the Coyotes capitalize on other team’s mistakes, but I’d like to see them capitalize on regulation play, too… ya know?

I guess we’ll see how all this plays out on Tuesday, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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