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Arizona Coyotes Disintegrate in Edmonton, Embarrassed by Oilers 7 to 3

By Scott Thompson

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 11: Nick Schmaltz #8 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals in a shootout at Capital One Arena on November 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Coyotes defeated the Capitals 4-3. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 11: Nick Schmaltz #8 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals in a shootout at Capital One Arena on November 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Coyotes defeated the Capitals 4-3. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Coyotes had some early-game problems in Edmonton and it snow-balled into a 7 to 3 defeat. Can we stop talking about first place in the Pacific Division now and concentrate on actually making the playoffs?

Did anyone else start to wonder during Edmonton’s demolition of the Coyotes just what changes could or should be made to the team after the NHL break? Should there be roster changes? System tweaks? Or are you a member of the “just be patient, they’ll be fine” camp, irritated by either knee-jerk or common sense reactions?

Although the pro-Coyote propagandists have recently touted the ‘Yotes’ inclusion in the battle for first place in the Pacific Division, something has to change dramatically for the Coyotes to even make the playoffs, much less to lead their division.

The Arizona Coyotes were on their heels quite early on Saturday afternoon in Edmonton, giving up a short-handed goal on a turnover during a ‘Yotes’ power play by Phil Kessel just four minutes into the game. The Oilers’ Josh Archibald jumped on the loose puck and beat goalkeeper Annti Raanta. Ten minutes later, Alex Goligoski turned the puck over and lo and behold, it was 2 to 0.

Eventually, the score increased to 5 to 0 before the Coyotes erased the zero on their side of the tally sheet. They were able to slowly scratch and claw their way back to succumb to the Oilers 7 to 3, but in essence it was during “garbage” time because the Oilers’ victory had been locked up much earlier in the game and Edmonton lost interest.

Antti Raanta started the game and the Coyotes’ and their fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. That didn’t last long, however, as Raanta allowed two easy goals and took the wind out of the Coyotes’ sails pretty quickly. I found it personally disheartening to hope that Adin Hill would play the remaining two periods.

It may very well be that the Coyotes just need some rest and time for their injured and banged up warriors to heal. It is obvious that goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper is the single most important player to get back on the ice. Without him in the net, the Coyotes have recently been a middle-of-the-pack team that wins a few games and then loses a couple, sort of a just above “500” team. That’s not going to result in a playoff appearance.

There are several teams in the Pacific Division that are trending upward, and that doesn’t include the Coyotes. Their puck management issues, inconsistent and undisciplined play, lack of power play success, and porous defense have combined to create a perfect storm of substandard play at precisely the wrong time.

It will be interesting, and perhaps agonizing, to see what adjustments the Coyotes brain trust will make and how the boys on the ice will perform after the break. Status quo won’t do, and I’m betting the organization has noticed it too. Changes afoot? Let’s go Coyotes!

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