Arizona Coyotes Continue Disappointing Final Stretch
Arizona Coyotes’ Stretch Run Has Been Brutal
With playoff dreams and a whiteout in Glendale out of the picture, the Arizona Coyotes continue to struggle at the beginning of the final full month of the NHL regular season.
They are now 2-8-0 in their last ten contests and have gotten points from just six of their past 18 games.
The issues that result in a loss on any given night vary, but in general the team is suffering from an acute lack of consistency.
The only real consistency the Arizona Coyotes have shown is the ability to take numerous penalties on any given night. The penalty parade has been the difference in several games for the good guys.
It has been a rapid, rapid decline in the desert but an altogether unsurprising one.
The Coyotes’ knack for scoring was mainly a factor of a sky-high PDO early in the season, and the fact of the matter remains that Dave Tippett has spun cloth into gold with the pieces he has to work with in his current lineup.
Let’s take a look at what’s been going wrong:
Next: Offensively Deficient
Offensively Deficient
The Yotes just can’t score with any regularity since the month of January.
Whereas before the team got timely goals and were always in a contest – or at least made it close late – they struggle to find their rhythm or maintain any kind of persistent pressure in the offensive zone.
The Arizona Coyotes have scored 21 goals in their past 10 games, a number that equates to just over two goals per game. During that time frame they scored more than two goals just twice, and were held to one goal or less in four contests.
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The goal-scoring has been so anemic that we’ve seen very little production from any of the Coyotes’ top young forwards in the ten game stretch, and even the torrid pace of Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2 goals, 3 assists in his past 10 games) has been slowed to some degree.
The scoring issues are exacerbated by the lack of zone time. The Coyotes simply spend more time in their own end than all but two teams in the NHL (47.2% Corsi For during 5-on-5 play).
This is due in part to bad zone entries. Too often the team is having to chip and chase or dump and chase and both forwards and defensemen seem unwilling to simply skate the puck across the blue line and set up shop.
Often you will see the Coyotes pass across ice from wing to wing to secure an entry only to not being able to connect the pass, or have the play broken up at the blue line. Turnovers are an all-too-common theme in the neutral zone and on those entry passes which puts the Coyotes on the back foot again immediately.
Next: Fear And Loathing In The Defensive End
Fear And Loathing In The Defensive End
Let’s get this out of the way. Nicklas Grossmann should not be dressing for the Arizona Coyotes in the post Tinordi/Connauton acquisition era.
Quite a few Coyotes’ players have a much harder time on the ice with Grossmann than they do without him. He’s a possession black hole on a team that’s already bad in possession. Head coach Dave Tippett cannot afford to have that kind of drag on the back-end.
Beyond Grossmann, this losing stretch has been a masterclass example of the bad decisions and positioning that has hampered the Yotes throughout the season.
Bad pinches are a fact of life if you’re watching this team on the ice. Those decisions often lead to unimpeded breakaway attempts on goal, and regularly lead to pointless penalties taken by the Coyotes as they must hook and clutch and trip to bring down whatever opposing player they’ve allowed to get the jump on them.
In the above play, the Coyotes turn over the puck in the offensive zone and Oliver Ekman-Larsson closes to keep the puck in the zone but fails to do so. The Flyers flip it out (and get a fortunate bounce off the linesman) and get an easy 2-on-1 rush for a goal.
Puck watching and forgetting about the trailing man is another issue that has plagued the Arizona Coyotes.
Against Pittsburgh during a period of 4-on-4 hockey, three Arizona Coyotes players followed a failed centering pass from Patric Hornqvist leaving Kris Letang all alone as he skated in from the blue line to the top of the slot.
Then there are the times the defense just falls asleep at the wheel.
I’m not even sure how to explain what happened with Zbynek Michalek and Kevin Connauton on Scott Laughton‘s first period goal in Philadelphia on February 27th.
Suffice to say the Arizona Coyotes defending issues are deep and varied. Some of it is a lack of talent and too many bottom pairing defensemen getting minutes and not enough above average defenders to round that out.
Some of the issues are completely self-induced, however, and it’s disheartening that the Yotes are this far into the season and the same miscues continue to happen night in and night out.
Next: Rollercoaster In Net
Rollercoaster In Net
There was a time when Louis Domingue was setting the world on fire in goal despite those defensive issues. That time has come and gone.
Louis Domingue has fallen from a lofty .926 save percentage in January to a .912 in March.
He has his good nights and his bad. That’s part of being a rookie.
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When the rest of the team is also so inconsistent you need stability from your goaltender, however, and Domingue has not consistently provided that for since January.
With Mike Smith‘s absence stretching farther and farther beyond the estimated window, the Yotes fate down the stretch is solely on Domingue’s shoulders.
Anders Lindback is done for the season due to an Achilles’ injury. Niklas Treutle proved that he is not quite yet ready for NHL action. Louis’ current backup is ECHL goaltender Marek Langhamer. It’s an unenviable position for general manager Don Maloney and head coach Dave Tippett.
While injuries and the errors of youth have mounted, there are a few symptoms that keep cropping up regardless of who is in net.
The Coyotes goaltending unit is also overly fond of playing the puck. We’ve seen at least three goaltenders – Smith, Domingue, and now Treutle – allow “gimme” goals by playing the puck when they should not, getting pick-pocketed, or being too nonchalant. The above goal sank Niklas Treutle before he even got going in his first NHL start.
While it’s unrealistic to expect your goaltender to stop every shot, Domingue has had issues giving up the soft goal of late. Issues that are becoming eerily reminiscent of his counterpart Mike Smith.
Domingue been rocked multiple times by goals from beyond the blue line and center ice, and the team itself have seen several goals end up in the back of the net because Domingue or the defense “quit on the play” because they expected a whistle.
Next: 16 Games To Go
16 Games To Go
With 16 games left to play, the Arizona Coyotes have fallen 18 points back of third place in the Pacific Division and remain ten points back of Minnesota for the final wild card spot.
The only race the team is still a part of is the Auston Matthews sweepstakes, which finds the Yotes tied for the third lowest points total in the NHL.
They are just three points ahead of the group of three teams (Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton) who hold the second worst points total.
The Yotes will have to rely on Louis Domingue and the kids to come back around if they want to finish 2015-16 on a high note instead of in the doldrums.
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With a little more attention to detail – and a lot more discipline – that seems like an achievable feat.
Another month like February and the Yotes fans will be lottery watching yet again.