Coyotes Fall At Home to Carolina Hurricanes
Posted 6:30 PM ET | Comments 1
Coyotes Fall At Home to Carolina Hurricanes
By Casey Gagnon, Phoenix Sports Hub
E-Mail: [email][email protected][/email]
Twitter: @CaseyPSH
PhoenixSportsHub.Blogspot.com
The Coyotes could feel Shane Doan’s absence from the lineup on Saturday night. Despite another solid defensive effort and a rare goal from fourth line fan favorite Paul Bissonnette, the Coyotes could not break a tight opposing defense and solid goaltending, dropping a 3-1 contest to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was only the second regulation loss against an Eastern Conference foe all season for the Coyotes, and their first at home.
Bissonnette opened the scoring in the first period after blueliner Connor Murphy fed him a tip in from the point. It was Bissonette’s first goal in over two years, and his first on home ice in almost four years. The crowd at Jobing.com arena erupted after seeing the lamp lit up by a skater better known for posting colorful comments on Twitter than posting points on the scoreboard, and it appeared the Coyotes were en route to second straight commanding home win.
However, Carolina had other plans. Almost nine minutes into the second period, Hurricanes left wing Nathan Gerbe fired a puck just under Coyote goaltender Mike Smith’s glove and into net to even the score at one goal apiece. Three minutes into the third period, Carolina’s Jeff Skinner broke the tie on a lightning quick wrist shot after a faceoff in the Hurricanes’ offensive zone. Skinner nabbed his eighth goal in the last seven games by pouncing on a loose puck and blasting it over Smith’s right shoulder to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Prior to Saturday’s contest, the Coyotes had not allowed a goal in the final period for three successive games. Carolina’s final goal came on an empty netter by Eric Staal late in the third after the Coyotes pulled Smith to gain a man advantage as the final horn approached.
The Coyotes had plenty of time to knot things up again with a tying goal, but Carolina executed an impressive defensive effort, repeatedly swarming and clogging up the neutral zone as Coyotes skaters battled for loose pucks. Even when the Coyotes prevailed and managed to break away towards the net, they failed to put the puck past Carolina goaltender Justin Peters, who finished with 38 saves. Peters has now allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last six starts.
After the game, Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller praised Peters, noting that he “made some really timely saves. He looks real confident and the guys have confidence in him. He’s a big part of the win.”
Meanwhile, Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett lamented that unlike the previous two games, which the Coyotes won without Doan on the ice, no one stepped up in the final two periods Saturday to break the tie, or to even up the score again after Carolina pulled ahead on Skinner’s goal.
“Every play counts, and it comes down to one face off that was just a loose puck battle that we lost,” Tippett said. “We had some chances to capitalize in the third but we didn’t do it . . . We could have used a spark from someone tonight that didn’t come.”
There were several bright spots for the Coyotes, despite their fourth loss in the last five home games. They improved their penalty kill streak to ten, including a perfect four for four during Saturday’s game. The Coyotes have not allowed a power play goal since the second period of their overtime loss in Vancouver on December 6. They finished with a 38-33 shots on goal advantage over the Hurricanes, as well as a 33-31 advantage on faceoffs. Smith stopped 30 shots to earn a .938 save percentage for the game.
On a less positive note, the Coyotes racked up 24 penalty minutes, definite concern for a team that has yet to score a short-handed goal this season. As a result, despite success in killing all of the penalties, this nonetheless consumed valuable time that the Coyotes could have instead utilized to set up scoring opportunities. Bissonnette alluded to the missed opportunites in his post game interview, despite halting his own multi-season scoring drought in the opening period.
“I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a bit with costly and timely penalties,” Bissonette noted. “It was tough to gain [offensive] zone time and sustain pressure.”
Murphy, credited with an assist on Bissonnette’s goal, expressed optimism that tonight’s loss would challenge the Coyotes to play a better game on next week’s four game road trip.
“Home games are huge,” said Murphy. “That’s what makes it even more disappointing, but I think it just has to make us more hungry to go on the road and get more points . . . it’s huge for us to get back in the race and become another top team in the west.”
The Coyotes will practice on Sunday, then depart for Montreal on Monday to commence a four game road trip before Christmas. They face off against the Canadiens on Tuesday night at Bell Centre before proceeding to Toronto to battle the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. A matinee contest in Ottawa next Saturday versus the Senators, followed by a final stop in Buffalo to play the Sabres next Monday evening, will conclude the road swing and return the Coyotes back to Phoenix just before the holiday. Their next home game is on December 27 versus the San Jose Sharks.
Shane Doan Update:
•The Coyote captain missed his fourth straight game due to illness, but he was in attendance Saturday night and held a press conference during the second intermission to update fans and the media on his health.
•Doan told reporters that he has been under doctor’s care, that prescribed medications have helped him feel better, and that he was even able to ride an exercise bike for about ten minutes earlier in the day. He added that original symptoms of his illness included headaches and fever.
•There is no official timetable on Doan’s return to the lineup, and it is unknown at this time whether or not he will be able to make the upcoming road trip. The Coyotes announced Friday that they are still awaiting test results from the doctor before any official decision.
•Doan spent most of the night watching the game with Arizona Diamondbacks all-star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was honored before the game with a ceremonial puck drop and personalized Coyotes jersey.
The Drought Hath Ended:
•Bissonnette’s first period goal was his first in his last 72 games. He last lit the lamp in November 2011 in Buffalo during a road game against the Sabres.
•The fourth liner endured an even longer period of time without a goal on home ice. He last scored at Jobing.com Arena in January 2010 versus the New York Islanders.
Monster Night For Miele:
•Top Coyotes prospect Andy Miele achieved a hat trick for the first time in his pro hockey career Saturday night while playing for the Portland Pirates, the Coyotes AHL affiliate in Maine.
•The Coyotes signed the 25 year old Michigan native to an entry level contract after the 2010-11 season, the same season USA Hockey honored Miele as college player of the year. He played college hockey at Miami (OH) University.
•Miele participated in Coyotes preseason training camp and also appeared in four regular season games before being assigned to Portland. Although Miele did not score any goals in the four games, he did earn two assists.
By Casey Gagnon, Phoenix Sports Hub
E-Mail: [email][email protected][/email]
Twitter: @CaseyPSH
PhoenixSportsHub.Blogspot.com
The Coyotes could feel Shane Doan’s absence from the lineup on Saturday night. Despite another solid defensive effort and a rare goal from fourth line fan favorite Paul Bissonnette, the Coyotes could not break a tight opposing defense and solid goaltending, dropping a 3-1 contest to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was only the second regulation loss against an Eastern Conference foe all season for the Coyotes, and their first at home.
Bissonnette opened the scoring in the first period after blueliner Connor Murphy fed him a tip in from the point. It was Bissonette’s first goal in over two years, and his first on home ice in almost four years. The crowd at Jobing.com arena erupted after seeing the lamp lit up by a skater better known for posting colorful comments on Twitter than posting points on the scoreboard, and it appeared the Coyotes were en route to second straight commanding home win.
However, Carolina had other plans. Almost nine minutes into the second period, Hurricanes left wing Nathan Gerbe fired a puck just under Coyote goaltender Mike Smith’s glove and into net to even the score at one goal apiece. Three minutes into the third period, Carolina’s Jeff Skinner broke the tie on a lightning quick wrist shot after a faceoff in the Hurricanes’ offensive zone. Skinner nabbed his eighth goal in the last seven games by pouncing on a loose puck and blasting it over Smith’s right shoulder to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Prior to Saturday’s contest, the Coyotes had not allowed a goal in the final period for three successive games. Carolina’s final goal came on an empty netter by Eric Staal late in the third after the Coyotes pulled Smith to gain a man advantage as the final horn approached.
The Coyotes had plenty of time to knot things up again with a tying goal, but Carolina executed an impressive defensive effort, repeatedly swarming and clogging up the neutral zone as Coyotes skaters battled for loose pucks. Even when the Coyotes prevailed and managed to break away towards the net, they failed to put the puck past Carolina goaltender Justin Peters, who finished with 38 saves. Peters has now allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last six starts.
After the game, Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller praised Peters, noting that he “made some really timely saves. He looks real confident and the guys have confidence in him. He’s a big part of the win.”
Meanwhile, Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett lamented that unlike the previous two games, which the Coyotes won without Doan on the ice, no one stepped up in the final two periods Saturday to break the tie, or to even up the score again after Carolina pulled ahead on Skinner’s goal.
“Every play counts, and it comes down to one face off that was just a loose puck battle that we lost,” Tippett said. “We had some chances to capitalize in the third but we didn’t do it . . . We could have used a spark from someone tonight that didn’t come.”
There were several bright spots for the Coyotes, despite their fourth loss in the last five home games. They improved their penalty kill streak to ten, including a perfect four for four during Saturday’s game. The Coyotes have not allowed a power play goal since the second period of their overtime loss in Vancouver on December 6. They finished with a 38-33 shots on goal advantage over the Hurricanes, as well as a 33-31 advantage on faceoffs. Smith stopped 30 shots to earn a .938 save percentage for the game.
On a less positive note, the Coyotes racked up 24 penalty minutes, definite concern for a team that has yet to score a short-handed goal this season. As a result, despite success in killing all of the penalties, this nonetheless consumed valuable time that the Coyotes could have instead utilized to set up scoring opportunities. Bissonnette alluded to the missed opportunites in his post game interview, despite halting his own multi-season scoring drought in the opening period.
“I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a bit with costly and timely penalties,” Bissonette noted. “It was tough to gain [offensive] zone time and sustain pressure.”
Murphy, credited with an assist on Bissonnette’s goal, expressed optimism that tonight’s loss would challenge the Coyotes to play a better game on next week’s four game road trip.
“Home games are huge,” said Murphy. “That’s what makes it even more disappointing, but I think it just has to make us more hungry to go on the road and get more points . . . it’s huge for us to get back in the race and become another top team in the west.”
The Coyotes will practice on Sunday, then depart for Montreal on Monday to commence a four game road trip before Christmas. They face off against the Canadiens on Tuesday night at Bell Centre before proceeding to Toronto to battle the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. A matinee contest in Ottawa next Saturday versus the Senators, followed by a final stop in Buffalo to play the Sabres next Monday evening, will conclude the road swing and return the Coyotes back to Phoenix just before the holiday. Their next home game is on December 27 versus the San Jose Sharks.
Shane Doan Update:
•The Coyote captain missed his fourth straight game due to illness, but he was in attendance Saturday night and held a press conference during the second intermission to update fans and the media on his health.
•Doan told reporters that he has been under doctor’s care, that prescribed medications have helped him feel better, and that he was even able to ride an exercise bike for about ten minutes earlier in the day. He added that original symptoms of his illness included headaches and fever.
•There is no official timetable on Doan’s return to the lineup, and it is unknown at this time whether or not he will be able to make the upcoming road trip. The Coyotes announced Friday that they are still awaiting test results from the doctor before any official decision.
•Doan spent most of the night watching the game with Arizona Diamondbacks all-star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was honored before the game with a ceremonial puck drop and personalized Coyotes jersey.
The Drought Hath Ended:
•Bissonnette’s first period goal was his first in his last 72 games. He last lit the lamp in November 2011 in Buffalo during a road game against the Sabres.
•The fourth liner endured an even longer period of time without a goal on home ice. He last scored at Jobing.com Arena in January 2010 versus the New York Islanders.
Monster Night For Miele:
•Top Coyotes prospect Andy Miele achieved a hat trick for the first time in his pro hockey career Saturday night while playing for the Portland Pirates, the Coyotes AHL affiliate in Maine.
•The Coyotes signed the 25 year old Michigan native to an entry level contract after the 2010-11 season, the same season USA Hockey honored Miele as college player of the year. He played college hockey at Miami (OH) University.
•Miele participated in Coyotes preseason training camp and also appeared in four regular season games before being assigned to Portland. Although Miele did not score any goals in the four games, he did earn two assists.
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