Arizona Coyotes: Jordan Martinook Recieves Coyotes’ Player Of The Game Belt After Amazing Game-Winning Goal
The Arizona Coyotes won an important game against the Kings last night behind a stalwart effort from Louis Domingue, however it was Jordan Martinook’s goal which stole the show.
He came into Arizona Coyotes’ training camp as an also ran.
Jordan Martinook was just another name buried beneath the plethora of young offensive talent developing in the Coyotes’ system.
His hard work caught the eye of his teammates and more importantly Dave Tippett, however, and he made the opening night roster and hasn’t relinquished his grip on a roster spot since.
Saturday night in the desert, Martinook and his captain Shane Doan completed the hockey version of a Hail Mary pass and it was glorious.
Doan flipped the puck into the air from his own end on a lead for Martinook who batted the puck down before a stunned Drew Doughty could react. The move gave him a split second opening on the perennial Norris Trophy candidate, and Martinook took the opportunity and unleashed a beautiful backhand past Jonathan Quick for the game-winner.
Martinook had not scored in 15 games. The last time he found the net was December 17th in a loss to Columbus. What a way to break the slump, though, and Max Domi and the team rewarded him for his hard work afterward.
After the game Jordan told reporters that the Hail Mary from Doan was actually a set play.
“Doaner and me have worked on that play numerous amounts of time in practice,” Martinook said. “We’ve tried it in games a few times. He flipped it right where it needed to be. Doughty, I don’t think he knew I was that close and I grabbed it. Sat good for me, and I just tried to make a quick move and beat him.”
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“Doaner’s so good at that flip. He always just says, ‘Go and skate into it.’ That’s exactly what I tried to do. Luckily, that time it worked.”
I, for one, am glad that they put in the work. That might be the most gorgeous goal scored by the Arizona Coyotes so far this season.
Jordan Martinook has been endearingly given the nickname “Heartinook” by Coyotes’ fandom for his hustle and tenacity night after night.
He has just five goals and ten assists on the season, yet one could argue he’s treading the exact same path that forward Tobias Rieder did just a year before. Rieder finished the 2014-15 season with 13 goals and 8 assists for 21 points.
It seems very likely that Martinook will exceed Rieder’s point total in his first season, and we all know how important Rieder has been to this team’s offense and zone play in 2015-16.
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Whether Martinook has a similar leap in production next season is up in the air, but with his desire and speed and a little more seasoning, things look promising for the Arizona Coyotes and #48.