Five Things You Missed: Arizona Coyotes vs St. Louis Blues
I can’t even preface this with idle chatter. Let’s just get right to it.
Oct 18, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) shoots the puck against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Gila River Arena. The Blues won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
1. Momentum
The game started out pretty evenly matched. The Coyotes weren’t outshooting the St. Louis Blues, but they were holding their own- until the first goal.
The Blues got on the board with one of the plethora of reviewed goals fans have endured this season so far. I hate reviewed goals- they stress me out, and next thing I know I’ve finished off my margarita and I’m crying because the call didn’t go my way (spoiler alert: watching the Coyotes lose 6-1 at home is a really good way to make like a Leafs fan and finish a bottle of liquor).
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If you didn’t catch it, the puck basically bounced off David Backes‘ skate and underneath Mike Smith. It happens, and was in no part due to a fault by the Coyotes in any way other than Smith being just an inch too high off the ice in a frantic dogpile to smother the puck. My fault with this goal, instead, comes from the complete derailment it caused the Coyotes. They fell off their game from that point on, and never really recovered from a goal that shouldn’t have shaken them in the first place.
2. Martin Hanzal
Watching Martin Hanzal lay on the ice for about half an hour really freaked me out, and for good reason- according to Tippett in the post-game interview, the giant forward is day-to-day for a leg injury inflicted during the game.
Watching him go down, if possible, derailed the team even more so than the first goal had. As soon as he skated off the ice, the game was St. Louis’ to run away with- and run away with it they did. This shows the difference in play levels from both teams; the Blues were without center Paul Stastny for the majority of the game, yet didn’t endure the same struggles that the Coyotes did.
3. Special Teams
Coming into this game, the Coyotes were one of the most effective teams in the league- on both the power play and the penalty kill.
"Defenseman Zbynek Michalek is considered one of the most powerful penalty killers in the entire NHL- and the team has a myriad of other players, both on the blue line and in offense, that are able to capitalize on one-man advantages and stave off five-on-fours with alarming consistency."
Coyotes fans saw none of the team that was ten for ten on the penalty kill, though, as the franchise allowed the Blues to net goals on four different power plays for the Central Division franchise. Both teams took six penalties overall, though- and it showed how off the Desert Dogs looked that they were unable to do the same with their own power play opportunities. Even Mikkel Boedker and Keith Yandle were unable to net goals as the game wore on, and before long, essentially every Coyote looked as invisible as the next.
Oct 18, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Blues center Jori Lehtera (12) shoots to puck to score a goal as Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) defends during the third period at Gila River Arena. The Blues won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
4. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Shane Doan
I’ve been binge-drinking the Shane Doan haterade since the season began. I hate the stupid calls he’s been making, and the dumb penalties he’s been drawing.
It was refreshing to see him stay out of the penalty box this game, but I was equally annoyed with the fact that Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been all but worthless so far this season. He’s got a single goal, but has been the turnover king since the season started. He’s off his game, and I can’t figure out why- but it’s pissing me off.
Overall, these two are expected to be on-ice leaders for the team in addition to off-ice, but I haven’t been seeing that. OEL drew a penalty late in the first period for interference, and then failed to rally his team once he was allowed back on the ice again. Shane Doan has been taking shots on goal, but has yet to capitalize on any of them- and he’s been overly reckless, in my opinion.
5. Mike Smith
I saved Mike Smith for last, because I want to flip a table.
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The team’s starting netminder has been very close to absolute garbage when it comes to consistency. He saved fourteen shots in the first period, then allowed six in the final two on only twenty-one additional shots on goal.
As a Coyotes fan, it’s frustrating to be unsure what kind of play you’ll see from Smith- not just from game to game, but from period to period. He lets in goals that backups would be able to stop with ease, but then makes saves that no one else would even be able to attempt.
It might just be a slow start to the season, but Smith has allowed sixteen goals over the course of only three games in net- and while the team managed to outscore the Oilers in the second of those three, the win had very little to do with Smith’s sensational play. The team is 1-2-0 with Mike Smith in net, which isn’t how you want to start out the season.
I think it’s too soon to make a rash decision, but there are plenty of more consistent goaltenders still floating around the league without real homes should Smith continue to play the way he has in the first week and a half of the season. Peter Budaj was looking for a team to play him as a consistent backup- or even allow him to graduate to a starter- and was instead placed on waivers by the Winnipeg Jets. Ilya Bryzgalov has no team, as the Minnesota Wild released him from his PTO right before the season began. Even guys like Mark Visentin could pull a John Gibson and graduate to play more consistently with the Coyotes, should Smith struggle beyond the end of October.
The team can afford to make some slower decisions regarding other players- for example, Sam Gagner is still having trouble finding consistency on his line- but inconsistency in net is something that a team hoping to make the playoffs simply cannot overlook.