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Arizona Coyotes: Louis Domingue Stands Tall But Coyotes’ Road Trip Starts With A Whimper

By Jason Harrison

Feb 23, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Mikkel Boedker (89) skates with the puck as Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula (51) defends during the third period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Arizona Coyotes left wing Mikkel Boedker (89) skates with the puck as Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula (51) defends during the third period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Arizona Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue stopped 34 of 36 shots last night but received no help in front of him as the Yotes started their pivotal five game road trip 0-2.

Throughout the first half of the season, the Arizona Coyotes watched their team fight back and win a lot of games they shouldn’t have.

Lately that has not been the case.

The past two games have saw them hang around against two of the most offensively talented teams in the NHL thanks to the play of goaltender Louis Domingue.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes’ top six forwards have been unable to get going or make any kind of noticeable impact

Anthony Duclair, Max Domi, Tobias Rieder, and Mikkel Boedker have produced just two total shots on goal in the Arizona Coyotes’ 3-2 loss to Washington and 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay combined.

Those names constitute four of the Yotes’ top six goal and point scorers in 2015-16. When you’re getting nothing out of the top half of your lineup, it’s very hard to win games. For Arizona, it’s an inopportune time for those four names to disappear.

Another loss or two on this road trip will seal what several fans have feared for several weeks; the Coyotes won’t be playing playoff games in Glendale this season.

Now for some morning links…

Coyotes Talk

Speaking of which, Sarah Hall writes that the Coyotes’ playoff dreams are in jeopardy. She notes that the Arizona Coyotes are “heading into the toughest part of their season by far” and if they secure “seven of the 10 points available on the road, they may still be in the playoff chase by the deadline”. It’s a daunting task for a team whose offense has been asleep at the wheel for large periods of the 2016 portion of the season.

Craig Morgan writes about Louis Domingue’s trial by fire as the Coyotes’ de facto number one goaltender after the Mike Smith injury. “In a perfect world, Louis Domingue’s NHL indoctrination would not have been quite so harrowing. The Coyotes would have worked him in slowly as a backup, choosing his opportunities carefully to maintain his confidence and manage his learning curve.” He has certainly had very little breaking in and not much support in front of him structure wise, either.

Fox Sports Bill Bernardi writes that the Arizona Coyotes will likely be sellers at the trade deadline. He suggests that they might part with Boedker, Martin Hanzal, or even Nicklas Grossman. He also suggests they could use a top six scorer just before suggesting jettisoning out two of our top six forwards, however.

Last but not least, Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynksi suggests both Mikkel Boedker is on his way out of Arizona and that Radim Vrbata could be returning to the desert. Both seem plausible given Don Maloney’s recent talk about the deadline.

Around the NHL

Sportsnet.ca’s Luke Fox rounded up the latest NHL trade rumors not involving the Arizona Coyotes.

Next: Coyotes Pull Boedker's Contract Offer

It looks like John Scott is getting a movie made about his crazy All-Star story. Potentially, any way. Mitch Albom is writing the script according to Deadline.

The San Jose Sharks are giving away a Brent Burns chia pet. That’s kind of…interesting, I guess. I’ll stick with the mini lockers. Thanks Coyotes!

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