The Arizona Coyotes aided by great start against Washington Capitals

The Arizona Coyotes found a way to get things done last night thanks to great performance from a few of their stars against the Washington Capitals.

The Washington Capitals are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. In a division that hosts Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets, the Capitals sit on top. Even a team like the Carolina Hurricanes, who currently sit outside of the playoffs in the Metropolitan Division playoff picture, would be tied for the division lead in the Pacific.

I hope you get the idea that there is a bit of a talent gap between the east and the west, but that did not stop the Coyotes last night. The Coyotes started strong last night, or rather their goalie did. Antti Raanta made some big stops within the first three minutes of the game to keep it tied at zero.

It stayed tied at zero throughout the entire first period, despite a power play on both sides. The big reason I believe the Coyotes failed to get a power-play goal in the first two periods was their lackluster attempt at keeping the puck in the zone. Yes, we were able to spend about 20 seconds with the puck on the perimeter, but I want us to move into the zone and stay there. I want to see a net-front presence on the power play. We need to see an effort like Christian Dvorak‘s goal midway through the second period.

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Dvorak opened the scoring in this one, and despite one answer by the Washington Capitals we still managed to walk away with a victory thanks to a Phil Kessel power-play goal and a Lawson Crouse empty netter to end the game.  Even though we got the win there still was a lot going on around the league.

The Chicago Blackhawks won over the Calgary Flames. On the one hand that is good for us that the Flames did not get a point last night. We are now tied with the flames at 66 points but they have a game in hand. On the other hand, the Blackhawks got two points in a wild card race that sees the ‘Hawks, Predators and Jets all chasing after the two wildcard spots within the west.

It is going to be a crazy finish within the Western Conference. All the Coyotes can do is focus on their game and let us watch the standings!