Arizona Coyotes and the importance of scoring first

The Arizona Coyotes are a team that needs to score first. Honestly every team in the NHL should strive to score first. No one wants to play from behind, and it is not a recipe for success. Let’s look at the statistics.

29-14-4 compared to 10-21-4 that is the record for the Arizona Coyotes last season when they scored first vs when they gave up the first goal. Those are two very different records. The Coyotes only scored 62 goals in the first period last season, the lowest out of all 3 periods, but that does not mean they can not change for this season.

It is all about starting off strong. That is all you need to do in the NHL, and the Arizona Coyotes need to try to do that more. Through the first 4 games of the season this year the Coyotes only scored first once. They won that game by the way. Obviously we are still looking at too small of a sample size for this season but it is just something to track.

The Arizona Coyotes also need to work on increasing their shots on goal in the first period. Last season they tallied 835 first period shots on goal in total, that is about 10 shots in the first period per game. So the Coyotes can really work on increasing that number. You want to score first, it makes the team better and improves chances of winning.

Playing with a lead is so different from playing from behind. All you have to do is work on getting pucks in deep and keeping the neutral zone blocked from opponents. However when you don’t have a lead you start to panic and take risks that maybe are not the best. Not having a lead in prime time for giving up breakaway and odd man rushes due to the chances that defenseman might take.

I am not saying I have all the answers, but I am saying that the Arizona Coyotes need to increase their scoring chances in the first period and score more if they want to win. I would look to players like Phil Kessel and Clayton Keller to score goals in the first period. You need your big name players to be those role players and step up to provide a spark to win.

Last season, according to hockey reference, the Arizona Coyotes gave up more goals in the second and third period then they scored. The only period they have more goals scored then given up was the first period. It is important to create a cushion early if you want to win.

Hopefully the Arizona Coyotes can start off tonight with a goal early, otherwise we might see yet another Coyotes loss due to giving up the first goal.