Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

I can’t think of a better way to sum up the game than by using a classic quote from the 2008 movie ‘The Dark Knight’.

You couldn’t pick a better situation than two powerful teams battling it out for the lead in the Western Conference. The game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks had all the hype to be as close to a playoff type atmosphere as possible. Two pretty evenly matched teams who played at extremely high levels in their previous match-ups this season, met for the final time in Chicago. The game was supposed to play out exactly as the Batman quote in the title of the article indicates even though the Coyotes had already won the season series.

Unfortunately, from the opening faceoff the energy that the Coyotes expended in the previous two back to back games (with Dallas on March 21st and the Blackhawks on March 20th) looked like it caught up with the entire team except for Bryzgalov. The Coyotes were beat in just about every aspect of the game for two periods as the Blackhawks came out hitting hard, playing aggressive, and basically playing at an extremely high level.

Chicago did their homework on the Coyotes after their loss in Glendale on March 20th. The Blackhawks played like they were not going to lose a 4th game in a row to the only team in the NHL they had yet to beat this season.

The way the Blackhawks played for the entire game clearly showed that they had studied the tapes of the Coyotes on the 20th of March. The adjustments they made, especially in transition and in their defensive zone kept the Coyotes off their games. The Coyotes attempts at a response just made them look lost, undisciplined, as well as tired.

Even with the 3rd period dominance by the Coyotes, they could not steal another game in a come from behind fashion as Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi shut the door hard making numerous key saves. Normally, I don’t agree with most of the three star selections in the arenas of opposing teams. However, the selection of Antti Niemi as the first star was more than deserved for the Blackhawks. Niemi was the key difference in the third period securing the Blackhawks victory while the team in front of him were withstanding the Coyotes onslaught.

NHL players and coaches are professionals when it comes to the need to shake off a loss like this one. Normally, most players and coaches leave these games behind them and move on to the next challenge.

That said, the Coyotes need to really think about a few things from this game before they really move on to the next challenge….

The main area of concern was the Phoenix Coyotes inability to win faceoffs on a regular basis against the Blackhawks. For the second game in a row with the Blackhawks, the Coyotes got dominated….no…annihilated…no…that’ still to soft of a word. Basically, the Coyotes got their butts kicked in from the faceoff circle. Yeah, it was that ugly. You can’t ever give a team like the Blackhawks possession of the puck as much as the Coyotes did.

In addition, these also were areas of concern during the game:

1) The Blackhawks in their defensive zone, were placing men in the mid slot in not only what looked like a safety valve option but it looked like they were preventing cross ice passes by the Coyotes.

2) Perhaps it was me but it looked like two Blackhawks players were always on the puck when the Coyotes were in their offensive zone.

3) The Coyotes, in their defensive zone, were caught many times chasing the puck around their zone.

4) The Coyotes need to come up with a game plan when teams like the Blackhawks crash the crease around their goaltender and prevent secondary scoring chances. This is the Coyotes bread and butter (other than defensive scoring). The Blackhawks took this aspect of the Coyotes game with great skill.

Why is this of concern? Because other teams around the league are going to be looking at this game tape, note the chinks in the Coyotes armor, and develop game plans around it.

Game Highlights

Game Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/GS021087.HTM

Event Summary

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/ES021087.HTM

Play by Play

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/PL021087.HTM

Faceoff Stats

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20092010/FC021087.HTM

Post game presser with Dave Tippett (courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com):

Post game comments from Dave Strader (courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com):

Post game comments from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

Post game comments from Jonathan Towes:

Post game comments from Brent Seabrook: