After getting trounced by the Colorado Avalanche and Stupid penalties the night before in Denver, the Coyotes came home to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the second game of a back to back game schedule.

The Coyotes came out with a dramatically improved defensive discipline and urgency to compete.  However, the tendency for untimely and….well…let’s be honest here….stupid penalties. Regardless the Coyotes prevailed over the slow and sluggish

Fortunately for the Coyotes, the Blackhawks were never on their game possibly as a result of lounging by the pool as it was their annual fathers weekend where the Blackhawks players brought their fathers on a road trip to watch them play and hang out off ice.

That said, I still stand by my claim that the Blackhawks are still not the same team they were in the playoffs last season. The loss of Nikolai Khabibulin to the Oilers has made the Blackhawks more of a tentative team that really don’t have confidence in their net minder.

Good things to take away from this is that the Coyotes showed fans a glimpse of what they’re made of by answering back with a strong performance. Players stepped up with great performances across the board.

Next game: At Anaheim – No TV

Game highlights:

Game Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/GS020215.HTM

Event Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/ES020215.HTM

Play by Play

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/PL020215.HTM

Faceoff Stats

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/FC020215.HTM

Dave Tippett’s Post Game Presser: