Arizona Coyotes: Power Rankings Pulse Week 13
The Arizona Coyotes were 2-1-1 over the past week as captain Shane Doan exploded for seven goals in the four game span. Can the Coyotes continue the trend heading into the last game of their Canadian road trip?
The Arizona Coyotes sit in second place in the Pacific Division. It’s January 6th.
When you consider the Coyotes (19-16-4) have a better record than the Anaheim Ducks (16-15-7) and are basically equal with the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-17-4), while being only one point on the season behind a superstar laden team like the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-15-5), it’s hard not to be excited. And maybe a little proud, too.
Despite dire projections and many jokes about tanking for Scottsdale native Auston Matthews, this Arizona team has managed to hang in there with a goal-scoring touch that has found the Yotes ranked 7th in the NHL in goals per game (2.82). With that said, the defensive foundation – in particular with inconsistent netminding – has been shaky at best with the Coyotes allowing 3.15 goals per game, the second worst mark in the league.
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In an interesting twist, AHL call-up Louis Domingue has seized the reigns in net and provided the most consistent run of goaltending the Arizona Coyotes have had this season. In his six starts, Domingue is rocking a .939 save percentage.
Despite going 2-1-1 in the past week behind impressive performances from Domingue and Shane Doan, however, the majority of national publications actually moved the Coyotes down in their weekly power rankings.
ESPN.com — this week: 13 | last week: 22
"The Coyotes have points in eight of 10 games, and you have to wonder whether Louis Domingue is making a case as the No. 1 starter — he has a .923 save percentage since being called up after Mike Smith’s injury. He looked good in a shootout loss to the Oilers. The Yotes are in Vancouver and Calgary this week, then home for seven straight."
NHL.com – this week: unranked | last week: unranked
The Hockey News – this week: 16 | last week: 13
"In six starts since Mike Smith went down with a core muscle injury, Louis Domingue is 4-2-0 with a .939 save percentage for the Coyotes"
NESN – this week: 17 | last week: 16
"John Scott, a 6-foot-8 enforcer with no skill, won the All-Star Game vote. It’ll be fun watching him try to keep up with the pace of the new 3-on-3 ASG format."
CSN – this week: 15 | last week: 12
"Without Mike Smith, Arizona’s goaltending has been wildly inconsistent, but because they are in the Pacific, they remain second in the division. So do the Coyotes make a move or ride it out and wait for Smith to return?"
Fox Sports – this week: 23 | last week: 20
"John Scott is officially an NHL All Star. He has one assist in 11 games this year. He’s already announced he’s playing in it. Pretty hilarious."
The middle of the pack slot given in several of the rankings feels about right for the Coyotes right now. They are still a team that is prone to beating itself with mental lapses, and they certainly possess less talent overall than many of the teams above them in the rankings.
Next: Judging Hanzal's Impact On Domi And Duclair
Despite their shortcomings, it’s hard to be anything less than thrilled with where the Arizona Coyotes sit versus what the expectations were.
And next year should be even brighter.