Arizona Coyotes: Anthony Duclair Receives Coyotes’ Player Of The Game Belt
The Arizona Coyotes defeated the Nashville Predators 4-0 behind another shining performance from Louis Domingue and a strong effort from Tobias Rieder.
As the Arizona Coyotes have now closed the first half of the 2015-16 season, they sit in second place in the Pacific Division. This is an unlikely event in the minds of many to say the least.
Coach Dave Tippett, for his part, recognizes his team finding a new gear. “The last two weeks is probably the best we’ve played all year, which is a good sign,” coach Dave Tippett said.
In the process, early season stars have went dormant only to return to relevance and produce for this team. Anthony Duclair is one such star, netting two goals and two assists in the past four contests. He also embarrassed Carter Hutton late in Saturday night’s matchup with the Preds.
Whether it was Dave Tippett benching him for a few shifts against the Chicago Blackhawks after an unnecessary penalty, or a renewal of his connection with Martin Hanzal (and some help from Max Domi), The Duke has seemed more aggressive recently and he’s been rewarded for the effort with points.
And now he’s been given the player of the game belt by Hanzal.
"Who did the game belt go to? Find out! ⬇️ https://t.co/Hdry8bq1TO— Yotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 10, 2016"
How about Marty faking out both Domingue and Tobias Rieder before giving the belt to Duclair? Those few intra-squad interactions we get to see are part of why we love this team.
With Louis Domingue providing solid coverage in net, the Arizona Coyotes’ score by committee approach has seen many heroes throughout the first half of the season. This run all started in October with a group of youngsters making their presence known in the NHL, however, and it appears their turn in the spotlight is coming back around.
Tobias Rieder scored his first two goals since December 17th last night, and rookie Anthony Duclair deked the pants off of Carter Hutton after failing to do so on an early first period penalty shot.
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Arizona Coyotes’ fans continue to wait for Max Domi to find his scoring touch again, but in the meantime perhaps Rieder and Duclair have found their own groove for the next few games.
For Duclair, the recipe seems simple. Shoot the puck. He’s scored 12 goals on just 44 shots (an insane 27.3% shooting percentage), but it’s not the percentage that really sticks out. It’s the number of shots contributing to that percentage.
How can a guy with hands and a shot like Duclair’s have just 44 shots in 40 games played?
The answer is simple. Deference.
In his rookie season, The Duke has been a card carrying member of the unnecessary extra pass club.
Next: Hanzal's Impact On Domi And Duclair
If Dave Tippett and staff can discourage him from that habit, we may finally begin to see Anthony Duclair put three or four shots on net per night. With that volume of shots, his shooting percentage will undoubtedly go down.
That goals scored number will inevitably go up, however, and that’s something everyone can get behind.