Arizona Coyotes: Boyd Gordon Out With Injury; Downie Sent Back To AHL
Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett told reporters that Boyd Gordon would be out for the near future. The team also announced Steve Downie had been returned to their AHL affiliate in Springfield.
The Arizona Coyotes will be without one of their centers as they attempt to regain their footing in the Pacific Division playoff race.
Boyd Gordon was injured when blocking a shot during Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Coyotes’ website detailed the contributions of Gordon to the team’s success this season:
"Gordon is averaging 11:57 of ice time and has notched just two assists in 47 games this season, but the 32-year-old center is a key contributor in the face-off circles for the Coyotes, who lead the NHL with a 53.8 percent success rate. He paces the team at 57.3 percent on 646 draws, and he has won at least 50 percent of his face-offs in 12 straight games and all but eight. He has missed five games this season because of injury. In those games, the Coyotes have won more than 50 percent of the face-offs just twice, and their percentage in those two games was 51 percent.Gordon also is a trusted penalty killer; he ranks second on the team with 130:00 of short-handed ice time and he has blocked 32 shots."
Without Gordon in the lineup, the Arizona Coyotes have also returned forward Steve Downie to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.
"Arizona Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have assigned forward Steve Downie to the Springfield Falcons, the club’s American Hockey League affiliate (AHL).The 28-year-old Downie has collected 3-3-6 in 26 games with the Coyotes this season and has scored 1-0-1 in five games with Springfield. The 5-foot-11, 191-pound native of Newmarket, Ontario has recorded 76-120-196 and 1,057 penalty minutes (PIM) in 434 career NHL games.Downie signed as a free agent on July 1, 2015."
Despite his veteran status, Downie has been unable to earn the trust of Dave Tippett when he has been in the lineup.
Presumably the reasoning behind Downie’s return to Springfield is the need for the Arizona Coyotes to recall a center. Perhaps we could see the return of Dustin Jeffrey.
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Jeffrey played in seven games for the Coyotes earlier this season. He scored one goal and had one assist while winning 60.3% of his face-offs.
He performed his job decently when called up and it seems likely the career AHL center won’t be the one to receive the nod again at this critical juncture.
While he was productive in the dot, Jeffrey did see his line get caved in on possession when he was on the ice.
Whether Jeffrey can plug the hole and help this team make the playoffs is anyone’s guess, but with the Coyotes on an four game losing streak the push forward has to start now.