Arizona Coyotes Panic Meter: Better Than Edmonton

It has been a bit of a strugglefest of late for the Arizona Coyotes.

#NoButReally.

"The Coyotes have lost five of their last seven games, and are averaging just two goals per game over that stretch."

With 25 games down this season and the Coyotes already five points out of a playoff spot — and with three teams ahead of them — is it time to panic? Or should we keep our heads level?

I have developed a foolproof formula for figuring out if Coyotes fans should be sweating profusely at this point in the season, or if they should calm down and walk themselves back from the ledge. Without further ado, I give you the debut of my Arizona Coyotes panic meter.

I consider myself a pretty level-headed fan, so I usually don’t get too high or too low at this point during the season — and after my intense calculations, I am putting the Coyotes panic meter at 6.

Here’s why.

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There are a few things that are concerning about this year’s Coyotes, and at the top of that list is their offense. They currently rank 23rd in the league in goals per game, at 2.40 — even worse than last season’s 2.56 average.

They have no players with more than 20 points this season, and their leading scorer is (once again) a defenseman. Keith Yandle is tied with Antoine Vermette for the team lead with 17 points, and they rank in a tie for 62nd place in scoring in the entire league.

The offense as a whole can seemingly never put together a full 60 minutes of good puck possession hockey; there are flashes in certain periods, but for the most part they have been helter-skelter.

I mean… They’re recently coming off a stretch of 130 minutes of not finding the back of the net.

They absolutely cannot play this way to be successful… Period. For the Coyotes to see some post-season action, they can only play one way — and that’s with an aggressive puck possessing forecheck that just wears the other team out. Without that type of play, we can see the frustration starting to mount among players and fans — and is definitely worth panicking over.

Than why is my panic meter so low?

First, it’s still quite early in the season; with more than two thirds of the season to go, a lot can happen. Injuries will inevitably hamper many of the Coyotes’ competition at some point, and trades will be made as well as other roster moves — such as the inevitable call-up of Henrik Samuelsson at some point this season. Plus, Tobias Rieder will probably score like thirty goals this season, and save the season, and win the Calder.

November 23, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Arizona Coyotes center Tobias Rieder (8) moves in for a shot on goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Second, The Coyotes have played their best against their division rivals, to the tune of a record of 7-3 inside the Pacific Division.

Within the division, that puts them one point behind Vancouver for the best intra-divison record among all of the Pacific division teams. With 29 games coming inside their division, playing well against those teams bodes very well for the Coyotes in the standings. Last season, the Coyotes won 14 games inside the pacific division — all three teams that beat them out for a playoff spot had more (ANA-22,SJ-18,LAK-16).

Although the offense is the biggest cause for fear and panic, though, it doesn’t help matters when your starting goaltender has only one win in his last eight starts.

"Granted much of that is on the offense for not helping out — but the Coyotes are still 24th in the league in goals against per game, at an even three."

It has been a tale of two goalies for Arizona this season, as Mike Smith has mirrored his team in helter skelter play. He’ll look good at times, making terrific saves that keep his team in the game, but then he’ll have a game where he looks superhuman… and still gives up five goals.

His backup, on the other hand, is putting up statistics than he hasn’t seen his entire career. Devan Dubnyk’s GAA of is the lowest of his career, and his save percentage is also a career best of .922.

Helping matters in goal for the Coyotes of late is the amount of blocks that the Coyotes are making. They are second in the league in blocks overall, with 245 total so far this season. Much of that can probably be chalked up to the lack of offensive zone time, but it is great to see that when in defensive zone the players are buying into helping out their goalies by sacrificing the body.

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