Arizona Coyotes Must Upgrade Penalty Kill Unit
The Arizona Coyotes must upgrade their penalty kill unit over last season’s subpar performance.
With the Arizona Coyotes’ penalty kill ranking near the bottom of the NHL last year, the team’s coaching staff surely must focus on re-building this important unit during training camp and throughout the season.
You’re probably thinking, thanks Captain Obvious. But it’s more than just doing a better job defending in man-down situations.
Part of the problem last year was sheer numbers. Tippett’s group faced more penalty kill situations than any other team in the NHL.
Head Coach Dave Tippett and his staff should put extra emphasis on not committing dumb penalties. Once a player has been sent to the box, however, success in preventing goals by the opposition has to be a focus.
The Arizona Coyotes let up 69 power play goals last year, more than any other team. The total is just shy of too a one goal per game average, a high water mark that no team would ever want to hit.
Improvement isn’t easy.
The Arizona Coyotes improved slightly, being ranked 29th in the league in the 2014-15 season to finishing ranked just 28th last year.
They’re in the basement and they’ve been there for a while.
But the numbers underneath the ranking tell the real story. The Coyotes gave up 65 goals in 279 attempts two seasons ago, and 69 goals in 304 attempts last year.
No matter how you slice it, that’s too many opportunities for opposing teams to score easy goals. Especially if the franchise has post-season plans.
Defending in man-down situations requires patience and discipline. It also requires the ability to disrupt the opposing team’s puck movement and block shots when necessary.
Similarly, if you can’t block the shot, there’s the need to get out of the way to allow for a clear line of sight for the goaltender, preventing a screen.
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Michael Stone excels in this area.
Stone blocked more shots last season than all other Arizona Coyotes, so getting Stone healthy is key. Connor Murphy wasn’t far behind Stone.
Newly acquired defender Alex Goligoski is also a great shot blocker.
All three of these players ranked highly among NHL defensemen in this category during last season.
So the Arizona Coyotes can either remain in the cellar, or show some improvement.
With player staffing still a question mark in some areas, we don’t yet know the player combinations that Dave Tippett will go to.
Fans may speculate about who will fill those roles, but until Arizona’s roster is set one thing is for sure; getting the job done in this central area of the game is vital for Tippett and his charges to compete in the very competitive Pacific Division.
Next: Coyotes A New Team With Departure of Chipchura, Vermette
Successful penalty kills not only keep other teams off the scoreboard, but also invigorate the players and the fans.
Sometimes a good penalty kill is just what the team needs to jump start the offense. This is an area we’ll be closely watching as a barometer for the team’s success this season.