Catching up with the future Coyotes in Portland
Since our last update several weeks ago, the Portland Pirates have a 30-22-4 record — good for 64 points in the Eastern Conference.
They’ve slipped down from sixth to ninth in their conference; luckily, the conference is still tightly contested — so the Portland Pirates are just six points behind both the fourth and fifth place teams, and far from eliminated from the playoff race.
Puck Prose
The team struggled a bit during February, starting the month off with two straight shutout losses — one to the St. John’s Ice Caps (1-0) on Feb. 7th, and then a 3-0 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Feb. 13th.
That was followed up with more February heartbreak; the Hershey Bears left the Pirates hanging on Feb. 14th, winning a 5-2 contest and extending Portland’s losing streak to three games.
On Feb. 17th, though, the Pirates broke out of the losing streak with a 3-2 victory. They followed that up with another 3-2 win versus the Springfield Falcons — they seemed unstoppable until the St. Johns Ice Caps came to Portland and took home both 5-2 and 3-2 victories over the Coyotes affiliate.
The Pirates refused to end on a sour note, though — they ended the month with a 4-3 win against the Manchester Monarchs.
Desert Transactions:
-On Feb. 5th the Coyotes recalled Alex Bolduc.
-On Feb. 9th the Coyotes recalled Mike Mckenna, and re-assigned Louis Domingue back to Portland
-On Feb, 12th the Coyotes recalled Brandon Gormley and Jordan Martinook, while assigning Chris Summers to Portland
-On Feb. Feb. 14th the Coyotes assigned Brendan Shinnimin To Portland Pirates
-On Feb. 21st the Coyotes assigned Alex Bolduc back to Portland Pirates
-On Feb. 23rd the Coyotes recalled Dylan Reese from Portland Pirates
-On Feb. 23rd the Coyotes recalled Henrik Samuelsson (FINALLY) from Portland Pirates , and assigned Jordan Martinook to Portland Pirates
-On Feb. 26th the Coyotes recalled Louis Domingue and assigned Mike Mckenna to Portland Pirates
This season, we’ve seen nearly all the Pirates we’re going to — so looking ahead, I’m excited to see is how new forward Anthony Duclair (“Tony D”) — whom we acquired from the N.Y. Rangers for Keith Yandle — will do in a Coyotes uniform. Since he cannot play under NHL rules until next season, I’m sure he’ll be watched closely to see his progress with QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts.
Flame for Thought
How will this affect the chances of the Coyotes making the playoffs?
Hard to tell — but things certainly look pretty bright. From the glimpses Coyotes fans are afforded of Duclair — both from the World Junior Championships and the QMJHL video clips — having him and his WJC linemate Max Domi will definitely improve the Coyotes fortunes next year. Duclair is the whole package — speed, toughness, excellent passing ability, and scoring touch. All qualities the Coyotes need. When he was offered up as part of the Yandle package, Maloney didn’t stutter — he took the deal.
In any case, keep your eyes on howlinhockey.com for the latest details on the Arizona Coyotes — both in the desert and up North.
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