Shut Down: Arizona Coyotes Collapse in 4-0 loss to Los Angeles

The Arizona Coyotes can’t seem to bring home goals in 4-0 loss to Los Angeles Kings

If you think this can’t be real — that you just dreamed a devastating 4-0 shutdown by the reigning Stanley Cup champions — think again.

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The Coyotes were just one of a whole slew of teams Thursday night that couldn’t seem to put points on the board; in addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, Arizona recorded yet another shutout on the season. Not a good look when GMDM is threatening to trade players, but what do I know?

The most upsetting part of all was the strength with which the Coyotes started out the game; despite a first period goal by Kings captain Dustin Brown, the Coyotes spent the first half of the game running L.A.’s show.

For the first time this season, Coyotes fans got a chance to see both Tobias Rieder and Mikkel Boedker light it up on the ice in the same game — if these two had maintained that level of play for all sixty minutes, things could have easily gone another way.

After Brown was credited with his second goal of the game, though, it was as if the Arizona skaters simply shut down. They didn’t just stop taking shots; they looked downright sluggish on the ice, reaching the puck entire seconds after Kings skaters and seemingly forgetting to even try battling for the puck along the boards. Defense remained at least passable, but a third goal against Mike Smith — tipped in by Jarret Stoll late in the second period — all but ended the game. From that point on, Smith was yanked, and it was all Devan Dubnyk could do to keep the team in the game.

Dec 4, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (23) celebrates with teammates after scoring goal in the second period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Possession stats over the entire game looked only slightly favorable for Los Angeles, but the final thirty minutes were an absolute train wreck. In twenty-five minutes of ice time, Dubnyk was tasked with stopping twenty-three unblocked shots; in comparison, Smith was only faced with twenty in the first thirty-five minutes of the game.

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The absence of Connor Murphy on the ice was glaringly obvious, and somewhat painful — although David Schlemko and Chris Summers played one of the better games seen out of either skater this season, the simple talent disparity between that bottom pairing and L.A.’s entire roster kept this from making a difference. Brandon McMillan, who started out the game looking like a bright spot on the team, seemed to give up by the end; rough-and-tumble players like Jordan Nolan and Kyle Clifford were left to run Arizona ragged in the absence of any kind of fight out of the home team.

Possibly the worst part of the entire game, though, was the way the crowd behaved; Arizona Coyotes fans in attendance at Thursday night’s game should feel ashamed.

The clear fan favoring of Dubnyk over Smith in net was childish and out of control; Smith got booed from the minute he took the ice at the start of the first period. The crowd continued to sound restless and angry until Tippett switched out the two netminders; the immediate change in the crowd’s atmosphere would have been comical if it wasn’t so petty.

"The team played poorly; there’s no doubt about this. The skaters once again looked like a different team in front of Mike Smith; whatever the reasoning is behind this, it’s got to stop. The crowd did absolutely nothing to help matters, though… if there’s anything Edmonton and Toronto should have taught desert fans, it’s that crowd loyalty works wonders for motivating a team to succeed."

Luckily, the Coyotes go on to play the Boston Bruins at home on Saturday; if there was ever a team that looked worse than Arizona right now, the Bruins are it. They suffered a 7-4 loss at the hands of the San Jose Sharks last night, getting outshot by double and blowing a first period 2-0 lead with their absentee defensive play.

Things have got to look better than this, though. No excuses.

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• Ivan Prosvetov signs one-year deal with Arizona Coyotes
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