What has happened to the Arizona Coyotes’ Power Play?

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.