Coyotes – 1 / Sabres – 2 – Post Game Wrap-up | Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

Share	Tweet
					/r/hockey	/r/coyotes

The Coyotes arrived in Buffalo for the second game of a back to back road game out to show fans what this team is made of so early in the season. However, in the Buffalo Sabres the Coyotes played up against what seemed to be a mirror image of the Coyotes in just about every aspect of their games.

This was a hard fought battle that was ruined by some dumb Coyotes penalties and some plain bad calls by the refs. Its as almost as if the NHL called the refs after the first period and told them to manufacture penalties.

The Positives from this game is a dramatically improved penalty kill especially on an amazing four minute penalty kill in the second period as well as a continued intensity . The other positive was that this game was a good measuring stick for the Coyotes to see where they’re at right now. I know the big test will come against the Sharks but for now this game was a good matchup to see how the Coyotes play against a speedy, aggressive lineup in the Sabres.

The main Negatives from the game, as Coyotes Coach Dave Tippett stated below (see link below), had to be stupid penalties followed by an anemic offensive zone game. Sure the Sabres played great in their defensive zone but the Coyotes weren’t that great when trying to set up plays.

Don’t forget, the home opener is this Saturday!!!

Post Game

Box Score from the Game:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2009020036

Highlights from the game:

The Buffalo newspapers are playing up the Kaleta hit on Petr Prucha. Coyotes fans aren’t going to like this….

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/822016.html

Post game comments by the Soon to be suspended Pat Kaleta:

Post game comments with Buffalo Head Coach Lindy Ruff

Post Game Comments from the #2 star of the game, Jason LaBarbera:

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=335&iid=15706&navid=DL|PHX|home

Post game comments from Dave Tippett – Who wasn’t happy with the penalties the Coyotes took in the game:

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/podcastplayer.htm?pid=337&iid=15714&navid=DL|PHX|home

Matt

“Soon to be suspended Pat Kaleta”???

That’s funny. I like you. You’re funny.

Back here in reality, Kaleta won’t be receiving a suspension of any kind, just as he received no penalty on the ice. The reason being that it was a clean and legal check.

Kaleta kits hard. It’s what he does. And body checks are legal in the National Hockey League, last I checked. If you don’t care for hitting, may I suggest that you’d perhaps prefer a more dainty sport? Maybe soccer?
admin

The reason that it could be suspendable is that Kaleta left his feet on the hit and that it was a late hit.

Regardless of the penalty, it can be reviewed by the NHL.

Besides, this is how the Bertuzzi/Moore incident started. A hit that wasn’t suspended and then the Canucks took matters into their own hands. By the way, did you know that the Sabres play the Coyotes at home in January? Should be a fun rematch, eh?
Robert

Kaleta did not leave his feet before the hit. Kaleta pressed off into the hit at the end, as he was finishing his check. There is a BIG difference. Watch it again and you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s when you leave your feet BEFORE a hit that its dirty. And late? Come on. Watch it again. Take out of a stopwatch if thats what it takes. If you think that was a late hit then maybe you should find some non-contact hockey to watch because no hitting would be allowed by your standard. And don’t compare this to Bertuzzi/Moore – this is MUCH, MUCH different, with much less reason for repercussion.
Matt

Just wanted to revisit this thread to point out that, of course, I was correct and Pat Kaleta was not suspended at all by the league. And the idea that he would be was ridiculous.

For as much as people claim that Kaleta is a dirty hitter, the fact of the matter is that he hasn’t been suspended even once for a hit, and he is very rarely even penalized for hits that he throws.

Does Kaleta throw hard hits to opposing players who aren’t paying attention? Yes. Does he throw hits that approach but don’t quite reach the definition of charging and boarding? Yes. Does he throw a lot of blatantly illegal hits (lead with elbow/forearm, leave feet, etc.)? No. He typically throws hard, technically clean hits and leads with his shoulder.

The solution isn’t to call for undeserved suspensions that are never going to materialize. The solution is for opposing players to be aware when Kaleta is on the ice and to keep their heads up and not spend time admiring their passes.

2011-2012 Home Opener

Categories

Our Sponsors

Article Topics

Hotels Near Jobing.com Arena

Links to check out