“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” – Murphy’s Law

You know, that’s the only way to logically sum up the Phoenix Coyotes game versus the New York Islanders during the first and second period. The moment Islanders forward Kyle Okposo scored the Islanders second goal of the game (it was also the exact moment Ed Jovanovski elbowed Islanders forward John Tavarez. Jovanovski will more than likely get suspended from this hit).

When this game started I was under the assumption that the Coyotes defensive problems from the Canucks game were just a one game occurrence.  Well, not only was that wrong but another of the Coyotes in-game problems, the penchant to take stupid penalties, came back….in a BIG way. This time it cost the Coyotes the game.

The main thing I couldn’t figure out what was the cause the Coyotes inability to stop the Islanders in the Coyotes defensive zone. I got to pondering (I do that sometimes):

- Was it the addition to the lineup of all the players coming off injuries not being anywhere near game speed?

- Were the Coyotes tired from their stretch of games against some tough teams after the Christmas break?

- Did the Coyotes mental toughness, a toughness that the Coyotes have been starting to get a reputation for, just fail them as a whole?

I mean not only were the Coyotes players not on but neither were the coaches in their inability to deposit a player in the penalty box at the start of the second period. A player was required to serve Ed Jovanovski’s 5 minute elbowing major at the beginning of the period. This caused the Coyotes to play with a man down for almost 10 minutes after Jovanovski’s 5 minute major had expired.

Without being able to ask the players themselves, the only thing that can be concluded right now is…..Murphy’s Law.

Notes:

- If Tyson Nash is going to be sitting between the benches during the games, it would be nice if he could report/give his opinions on what’s going on both benches during the game.

- I’ve been noticing that many people are beginning to freak out because the Coyotes lost a few games. All I’ve got to say to those people is this…

This is a long season and the Coyotes aren’t going to go undefeated this season. A little adversity is good for the Coyotes as it refocuses them and gives the team new goals and challenges to work on.

Game Highlights

Dave Tippett’s post game press conference:

Post game interviews Paul Bissonnette, Zybnek Michalek, and Dave Tippett

Game Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/GS020669.HTM

Event Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/ES020669.HTM

Play by Play

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/PL020669.HTM

Shootout Stats

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/SO020669.HTM

Face off stats

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/FC020669.HTM