Looking Good Billy Ray! Coyotes’ New Uniforms Are Awesome

The Arizona Coyotes are looking good in their new third jerseys. They looked even better on the ice in last night’s game, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1. Clayton Keller scored his second hat trick of the season and Karel Vejmelka looked like a star again with 35 saves in the win.

The new Desert Night jerseys have been met with mixed reviews from fans on social media, but say what you will, the team looked great in them last night. This may piss off a lot of traditional Coyotes fans but the team literally came out with a different look. The old school Kachina jersey, though an NHL fan favorite, does have a certain loudness to them. When we play other teams this season they associate our Kachina jerseys with our rank in the standings.

These new third jerseys are clean and slick, and the team played that way last night. We looked like a different team. As soon as the team released these beauties, and Shop.NHL.com launched their sale I felt like Finn on Futurama, “Shut up and take my money!”

I want one of these now. I have a birthday coming up, maybe my kids will spoil me.

Vegas came out slow in this game in spite of the fact that they got 36 shots on goal. It was clear that their goalie Logan Thompson was tired as he played his second game in consecutive days. The Knights clearly were over looking our boys and we took advantage. Last night’s game was the final meeting between these two teams.

Last night Tyson Nash pointed out that our schedule is finally catching up with us. I could not agree more. The team is in a rebuild. It is clear the lack of talent and depth on our roster is starting to surface as we have gotten deep into the season. We actually started the year off better than most would expect, but have come back down to Earth since.

Nash pointed out “when they don’t have the energy and the juice because of the schedule, it comes back and that’s exactly what’s happening“. Perfectly worded Tyson.

We are not going to match up with most opponents talent wise. The difficult and exhausting early schedule clearly has caught up to the Coyotes. When our team is well rested, we typically look good. We do not have the talent to hang with top teams during long stretches of play. We are in a rebuild after all.

The positives from games like last night are the growth and development of the younger players on the roster. Dylan Guenther scored a gorgeous first period goal, Karel Vejmelka had one of his best games of the season, and Clayton Keller continued to show the rest of the hockey world why he should be listed at one of the top players on the planet. If you plug in a legitimate top line center (someone who wins faceoffs, dominates in the offensive and defensive zones, can make plays, and is a scoring threat) this team will be scary.

The Coyotes play Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, and Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues before heading back out on the road for a five game trip.

Happy Howlin’!