What has happened to the Arizona Coyotes’ Power Play?

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.

Puck Prose

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.