Mikkel Boedker Isn't The Only Inconsistent Coyote In Arizona

Mikkel Boedker and the Arizona Coyotes are wishy-washy

When you look at the Arizona Coyotes, they epitomize teams that should be doing better than they are — but they also epitomize a team that looks different every night.

The last month of games illustrate this team’s on again off again performance:

12/30:- 4-2 vs the Philadelphia Flyers (W)
1/1: 6-0 loss vs the Dallas Stars (L)
1/4: 6-3 win vs the Columbus Blue Jackets (W)
1/7: 6-0 loss vs the St. Louis Blues (L)
1/9: 4-1 win vs the Winnipeg Jets (W)
1/11: 5-1 loss vs the Ottawa Senators (L)
1/13: 3-2 vs the San Jose Sharks (L)
1/15: 4-1 vs the Calgary Flames (L)
1/17: 3-1 vs the Minnesota Wild (L)
1/18: 4-3 (OT/SO) vs the Winnipeg Jets (OTL)

The pattern is pretty clear — the team can’t remain strong and display good play for a sustainable period.

If a team can’t start to put wins together, their fate is doomed, and the playoffs are definitely a dream.. at best.

When you look at winning/losing streaks, some more details become apparent:

Last season, the team didn’t have any losing streaks longer than two in their first 41 games (excluding overtime loss games)
They did, however, have one 3 game winning streak plus a 5 game winning streak.
This season, they’ve had two losing streaks of 3 games and one of 5 games. The longest winning streak has been just 3 games, which has occurred twice.

Home/Road record comparisons:

Last season: Home record = 11 W, 5 L, 3 OL — for 25 points

Road record = 9 W, 7 L, 6 OL — for 24 points

This season: Home record = 9 W, 10 L, 3 OL (with a seven game losing streak) — for 21 points

Road record = 7 W, 11 L, 1 OL — for 15 points

All these numbers tell a tale of how this team has looked inconsistent from start to finish this season — and while Mikkel Boedker is one of the players who gets criticized most for going hot then cold, it takes an entire team to go on these kinds of roller coaster seasons. It has to destroy a team’s confidence — and give the coaching staff gray hair — to win big games and turn it around right before getting slayed by teams they have no business losing like this to.

Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-19

Looking back at the Blackhawks' trades involving Andrew Ladd /

Puck Prose

Three players the Arizona Coyotes should trade this seasonPuck Prose

The Bouch bomb is locked and loadedOil On Whyte

NHL 24: Predicting the highest rated players at every positionApp Trigger

Extending André Tourigny is the right move for the Arizona CoyotesPuck Prose

How Tough Will The Central Division Be For The Hawks?Blackhawk Up

Our goaltending has been mediocre, especially by Mike Smith. He recently seemed to be coming out of it as well, only to turn into Dr. Jekyll and lose by large margins.

Then there’s the defense, or shall we say the lack thereof; if you’ve viewed Coach Dave Tippett’s post game press conferences, they are sounding like reruns of your favorite TV show. He is sure to mention that Mike Smith has been getting exceptionally poor support in front of him, although you would expect better proficiency from a top paid six million dollar goalie. Devan Dubnyk had his moments before heading to Minnesota, but even he had fits of turning into Dr. Jekyll at times, although less frequently than his counterpart, Smitty.

What I’ve noticed more than anything is how this team digs itself a hole early, falling too far early on to fight back. They’ll attempt to make comebacks, but just fall short.

Is it lack of concentration? Or perhaps lack of players with enough skills to get the job done? Maybe, quite honestly, it’s a little of both.

Injuries have played a role as well, although the team has not lost nearly as much playing time due to injuries as some other NHL teams this season. It cannot be ignored, though — when Martin Hanzal is injured, they seem to lose the energy they need to dig out the puck from the corners, and they have trouble screening the goalie without his huge frame.

Mostly, it seems they are being outplayed way too often in their own zone. Puck possession, like any sport where your offense feeds off your defense, begins with tenacity and extreme effort. You can’t score if you don’t have the puck, or are playing in your defensive zone 70% of the game. The shots on goal illustrate that brutally.

The Coyotes style of play needs to make a resurgence, and quickly. With the season now half gone, there is no time to say “we can still turn it around.”

Players like Boedker, Sam Gagner, and Martin Hanzal need to step it up. Players like Yandle and Michalek — whose contracts are expiring at season’s end — need to be more consistent; if not for the team, then to increase their future value. Michalek’s +/- is not getting any better, and Boedker can score in spurts — but needs to become a clearer go-to guy. With this team’s weak offense, the veterans need to step up.

Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-35

Toronto Maple Leafs: Max Domi Can Be Instant Fan Favorite /

Editor In Leaf

Toronto Maple Leafs: What Every Fan/Analyst Gets Wrong About the CapEditor In Leaf

The Toronto Maple Leafs Blue-line and Bottom-Six Aren't Playoff MaterialEditor In Leaf

Maple Leafs: Five players to keep an eye on heading into the new seasonPuck Prose

Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Players to Target Late in FantasyEditor In Leaf

The Biggest Hindrance to the Toronto Maple Leafs SuccessEditor In Leaf

The Yotes have given some of the up and coming rookies from Portland a chance to show what they have — and with Tobias Rieder, it has been a success. Lucas Lessio may be next, but I’m personally waiting for Henrik Samuelsson to make his presence. Big body, scoring touch, and placement are his specialty. We don’t care if you call them garbage goals — they all count.

The one bright spot has been the power play, which ranks fifth with a 21.8 % success ratio. Newell Brown has done some magic to improve that part of the team’s play — but their penalty kill is the worst in the league. In the new year so far they are a terrible 71.8%… going the wrong direction.

The other factor is not giving Mike Ribeiro more of a chance to turn his personal life around. Look at how he has done this season: 9 goals and 27 assists for 36 points in 41 games. Issues or not, we could use that production. Then, add in Radim Vrbata, who left for greener pastures in Vancouver. His stats are impressive as well: 16 goals (4 less than he had all last year with Arizona), 13 assists in 37 games, and an All-Star game selection. Along with the now terrible decision to sign Smith to a long term $5.6M a year contract, things look dismal. Hard to believe that Smith is dead last in goaltending stats… sad.

Perhaps there is time to turn things around, but time is running short, and this team needs some wins. It won’t get there if they continue their hot and cold play.

More from Howlin' Hockey

Home / Coyotes News