Arizona Coyotes Are Now Toast and Won’t Make the Playoffs
Unfortunately, Arizona Coyotes’ goalkeeper Antti Raanta isn’t good enough to stop a boatload of shots AND score the goals needed in a game he deserved to win (and relish).
It is with a heavy heart and bitter disappointment that I am convinced that the Coyotes will not make the playoffs. This season’s annual heartbreak is more severe than usual because the expectations for a playoff spot felt real, felt achievable, and not just a pipe dream.
But alas, at a time when the Coyotes should be battling their hearts out, doing everything they can and more to win, their game against the St. Louis Blues was an offensive dud and showed just what a stark contrast there is between those two teams.
The Blues are defending champions. The Coyotes are a work in progress, as they have been for many years. There’s a huge gap between the compete level of the champs and the Desert Dogs. St. Louis has a killer instinct and knows when to apply pressure as five-man units. If it wasn’t for a standout performance by Antti Raanta, the game could have easily been 5 to 0.
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The Coyotes are soft and therefore ill-prepared to enter the playoffs. They lack grit and physicality, and they certainly lack consistency. They have some invisible players, including a couple with the letter “K” on their backs, that get to keep playing regardless of their lack of production. On special teams, which haven’t been very special lately, they lack the ability to figure out how to successfully utilize the power play.
The Blues swarmed the Coyotes’ “D” zone, while the ‘Yotes were “one and done” most of the night. Blues goalkeeper Jordan Binnington looked as though he needed something to read during the game.
It was easy to relate to Antti Raanta’s frustration when he quickly walked down the ramp and into the losers’ locker room. He fought his butt off and was rewarded with nothing. No points.
The excuses for Thursday night’s lethargic performance will include the fatigue factor suffered by the Coyotes due to playing back to back games. I’m anxious to hear the others. Fox Sports Arizona TV Analyst Tyson Nash said that this time of year is when “big boy” hockey needs to be played, and the ‘Yotes’ big boys, whoever they may be and wherever they were, were not in St. Louis on Thursday night.
To add insult to injury, the Winnipeg Jets beat the Ottawa Senators 5 to 1 on Thursday night and leapfrogged the Coyotes into the last wild card spot. In addition, the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5 to 2 and took over sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
I doubt that the ‘Yotes will get within sniffing distance of the postseason again after facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at GRA.
The March schedule of 13 games is even more brutal, and barring a miracle involving a series of high goal-scoring games, the Coyotes will be irrelevant in short order.
From top to bottom, this current roster is just not good enough to compete with the “big boys,” and it’s a shame.