What has happened to the Arizona Coyotes' Power Play?

2 of 4

Nov 11, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley (6) punches Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the third period at Gila River Arena. The Stars defeated the Coyotes 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

I JUST WANT TO BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND.

Okay, all drama aside, the Arizona Coyotes almost gave me heart failure last night.

This is the team that went from having one of the most effective power play units in the league… to having one that might as well be even strength.

Frightening statistic of the week: the Arizona Coyotes have not scored on the man advantage in the past twenty opportunities to do so.

Of course, they did get scored on by the short-handed opposition once during that time… so hey, at least goals are getting scored by special teams!

I’m just kidding. That’s awful.

Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-7

2023-24 NHL Schedule Key Dates: Opening Night, Trade Deadline, More /

Puck Prose

Blue Jackets Officially Introduce Pascal Vincent as Head Coach Union and Blue

Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs Puck Prose

Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out? Union and Blue

Fantasy Hockey: Potential Calgary Flames sleeper picks Flame for Thought

3 Oilers Players Who Should See An Expanded Role In 2023 And 1 Who Should Not Oil On Whyte

How did a team that had once been so effective on the power play become so… well, stagnant?

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly has gone wrong, particularly because the team has actually improved in all other areas of play. The Coyotes have gone scoreless against in their past three first periods. They’ve lowered their goals against average overall by nearly half. They’ve climbed the rankings in even strength goals, and haven’t lost a game by more than a single goal in over a week.

Chemistry has visibly improved, possession is on the upswing, and goaltending has been stellar. So, what’s going wrong when the team is given that extra man advantage?

Nov 11, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19) battles for the puck against Dallas Stars center Vernon Fiddler (38) in the second period at Gila River Arena. The Stars defeated the Coyotes 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

First option: Score effects

I’ve got this weird love affair with score effects, because it’s Murphy’s Law and karma all wrapped up in an extremely ugly package.

Essentially, score effects comes down to effort from the favored team- meaning that the more confident you are of something happening, the less likely you are to actually follow through and make it so.

I’m too lazy to look up (and probably compile myself, because who would bother doing this) the exact numbers, but there’s a historic precedent among NHL teams where the leading franchise loses games in the final two periods. Usually, it’s because the team that shoots the most wins the game- and when you’ve got a two-plus goal lead, there’s a tendency to slack off on that front.

This showed to be true with the Coyotes during this past game (they outshot the Stars by eleven in the first period, then were outshot by nine in the second), but I suspect this concept might have something to do with the drop-off in performance on the team’s power play, as well.

Think you’ve got the strongest power play in the league? You’ll probably develop a tendency to slack off on it- after all, your performance is already miles above everyone else’s. As a result, though, you end up dropping off in production- hence, you go TWENTY POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES WITHOUT A SINGLE GOAL.

But I digress.

Nov 11, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy (5) celebrates his first period goal with teammate Keith Yandle (3) against the Dallas Stars at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Second option: Chemistry shift

There’s been a lot of in-and-out on the Coyotes lineup from week to week- and it’s finally paying off. The team is actually developing even strength chemistry, and that’s resulting in more goals, which means more wins (or closer goal differentials in losses), which means a happy Arizona.

The one place where not much has changed, though, has been on the Coyotes’ power play. You still see Keith Yandle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Shane Doan, Sam Gagner, and Mikkel Boedker- and while those are all fantastic players and usually top-scorers, this combination is clearly not working anymore.

It’s not just the new guys that are finding chemistry with one another- it’s old guys finding chemistry with new ones, too.

I PERSONALLY want to take Shane Doan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson off the power play for Connor Murphy and Tobias Rieder, at least for a game. See what happens. Could look good! Dave Tippett has already suggested that he’ll be making some ‘personnel swaps’ on the special teams, and this is what I’d do- but whether he heeds my advice or not (probably not, lol)… the problem may simply be in the skaters on the ice together.

Oct 15, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy (5) celebrates with left wing Mikkel Boedker (89), right wing Shane Doan (19), defenseman Keith Yandle (3) and center Sam Gagner (9) after scoring a goal in the second period against the Edmonton Oilers at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Third option: External issues

The biggest problem I have with heavy stats analysis and sports betting is that the game isn’t played by perfectly designed androids. HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO!

Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-3

Puck Prose

Blue Jackets Officially Introduce Pascal Vincent as Head Coach Union and Blue

Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs Puck Prose

Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out? Union and Blue

Fantasy Hockey: Potential Calgary Flames sleeper picks Flame for Thought

3 Oilers Players Who Should See An Expanded Role In 2023 And 1 Who Should Not Oil On Whyte

Shane Doan has been great defensively as of late, but maybe he’s been struggling to find a purely offensive game- he could have gotten himself into a two-way mindset that he can’t shake, and it’s affecting his power play play (please ignore my awkward wording, guys).

Maybe Mikkel Boedker cracks under pressure- it certainly took him a while to score even a single goal to follow up on his hat trick. He could be suffering from a case of the pressure intensity blues, and is missing too many shots as a result.

Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson could have gotten into a fight. Maybe Gagner forgot to pick up his shoes one too many times after practice, and Doan is now his frenemy. The whole unit could be on a downward spiral of finger-pointing after the first ten missed opportunities, and it’s only going to get worse from here.

There are a lot of things that can be explained away using graphics and analysis and line changes- but sometimes, poor performance is simply inexplicable.

Remember when Brad Marchand missed a wide-open net from about fifteen inches away during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs? Better yet, remember Mike Smith in the first two weeks of the season? Slumps happen sometimes with no explanation, and the only way to get out of them is to wait them out- or trade out that unit for a different one until they’ve got their A-game back. It sucks, but it’s true.

Final thought: At least the team is getting better.

More from Howlin' Hockey

Home / Coyotes News