SB Nation Stanley Cup Playoffs -- Quarterfinal Round
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Phoenix Coyotes fans have been through a lot, and most of their difficulties been brought on by a Canadian media that believes hockey doesn't belong in the desert. They've been fueled by low attendance and troubled ownership throughout the saga, but Wednesday night's playoff game between the 'Yotes and Red Wings was a victory for Phoenix hockey fans, according to SBN's Five For Howling.
Ok, I don't even really know how to start this thing today. What an amazing game last night was...the entire playoff atmosphere around Jobing.com Arena was completely amazing. If anyone who watched this game or was at the arena still has some doubts about the viability of hockey in Phoenix...well, you must be David Shoalts. Seriously, I've been to some crazy amped up arenas in my day, and that was simply amazing. Standing ovations for penalty kills midway through the second period...the fans were engaged, loud and louder. The Coyotes started the game a bit jittery as Tippett said in his presser, but they really took the play to the Red Wings in the second and third periods.
I cannot wait until Friday night.
Hate them for not showing up when the team was terrible, perhaps, but there's no better medicine for a struggling franchise than some bonding tools between fans and of course, winning hockey.
For more, visit our Coyotes blog, Five For Howling, or our Wings blog, Winging It In Motown.
Glendale, AZ (Sports Network) - Derek Morris scored 2:19 into the third period and added two assists, and the Phoenix Coyotes held on to beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The Coyotes are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years, and got off to a good start in this best-of-seven set thanks to their special teams. Goals from Morris, Wojtek Wolski and Keith Yandle all came on the power play as Phoenix finished 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 38 shots, including all 20 he saw over the final two periods.
Tomas Holmstrom and Nicklas Lidstrom had the goals for the Red Wings, who, in contrast with the Coyotes, are in the postseason for a 19th consecutive season. However, Detroit is playing without home-ice advantage for the first time since 1992.
Jimmy Howard stopped 32-of-35 shots in the loss.
Throw The Snake is officially a big deal. We're talking a Joe Biden-style big deal.
Yes, the Phoenix rallying call started right here at SB Nation as a collaborative effort between our Leafs blogger, Chemmy, from Pension Plan Puppets and our Coyotes blogger, Travis Hair, from Five For Howling, was featured during CBC's playoff coverage Wednesday night.
(Video H/T: warwalker.)
If they can hold on, get ready for the 2nd coming of pro hockey in Phoenix.
Okay, maybe just the first coming. Regardless, there will be snakes. Oh yes, there will be snakes.
Oh man, what a one-time shot.
Wojtek Wolski fired an absolute cannon of a shot into the Detroit goal before netminder Jimmy Howard even knew what happened. The Coyotes have tied the game now midway through the second period. It's been a back and forth contest so far, with both teams getting chances and both goaltenders coming up big.
It's also safe to say that the Phoenix crowd is enjoying playoff hockey again.
Keith Yandle put the Phoenix Coyotes on the board in the first period on a power play goal that tied the game at 1-1. Soon after, a few snakes found their way from the crowd to the ice.
Behold, courtesy of the fine folks currently inhabiting SBN's Coyotes blog, Five For Howling:
Everybody who was hoping Coyotes fans would Throw The Snake at the start of Phoenix's first round, game one with the Detroit Red Wings is probably slightly disappointed right around now. Couple that with the fact that an octopus apparently hit the ice at Jobing.com Arena and those on the 'Yotes bandwagon are just flat out peeved.
Check out the scene over at SBN's Five For Howling -- where the whole Throw The Snake thing was born this past week -- just prior to the game.
An octopus on the ice! Why did no one stop this injustice??
leaf fan stuck in ottawa, a localized black hole that will suck everything in that area to oblivion.
by stucky
I SAW AN OCTOPUS
by Chemmy
Oh god it’s the Octopus, someone better throw a god damn snake.
So don't get violent and don't get caught with your head down, the night she stole the moon.
Never fear, though, Coyotes fans and bandwagoners. The snakes are here!
Apparently, Coyotes fans are waiting for a goal.
The Phoenix Coyotes were last in the playoffs in 2002 when they lost in the first round to the San Jose Sharks. Since then, the team and the fan base have gone through many distractions on and off the ice. With the first home playoff game in eight years, comes a great deal of excitement. Our Coyotes site, Five For Howling, captures it:
The fans should have the same attitude. Own OUR arena. Wings fans want to come we'll take their money, but like I jokingly said before we're going to be louder. We're going to want it more. We're going to own them. We have to. The pressure is all on Detroit. They're the ones everyone is picking to win. I think we can do this. I KNOW we can do this. and we're not going to let this damn team ruin anything. Cinderella isn't done yet. It's no where close to midnight. In fact It'll barely be 7 when the real dance starts.
The Coyotes fans deserve to enjoy this moment. The question is whether or not the team can make it memorable.
For more, visit our Coyotes blog, Five For Howling, or our Wings blog, Winging It In Motown.
GLENDALE, Arizona (Sports Network) - The Phoenix Coyotes will host their first playoff game in eight years when they welcome the Detroit Red Wings to Jobing.com Arena for Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals.
This will also be the first playoff game in the brief history of Jobing.com Arena, which opened during the 2003-04 campaign.
The fourth-seeded Coyotes, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, entered the 2009-10 season as long-shots to qualify for the postseason.
Phoenix went from bankruptcy court to NHL ownership to postseason darlings in the span of an 82-game season that saw the club post franchise marks in wins (50) and points (107). General manager Don Maloney deserves a lion's share of the credit. When Wayne Gretzky stepped down as the club's head coach and director of hockey operations before the season, Maloney went out and got a proven winner to replace "The Great One" in Dave Tippett.
Tippett, who coached Pacific Division rival Dallas before coming to the desert, ranks second in the NHL in wins since the start of 2002-03 with 321, behind only Mike Babcock (325) of Detroit, and could land himself the Jack Adams Trophy as the league's top coach.
Starting late last year, Maloney started adding to a solid core that included veterans Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski and Ilya Bryzgalov by bringing in the likes of Matthew Lombardi, Scottie Upshall and Radim Vrbata among others. And, Maloney was perhaps the biggest winner at this year's trade deadline, making numerous trades and hitting home runs by adding Wojtek Wolski, Lee Stempniak and Derek Morris in separate pickups.
Phoenix, though, might only go as far as Doan's 33-year-old legs can carry them. A member of the franchise since it was located in Winnipeg, the Coyotes captain logged 18 goals and 55 points while skating in all 82 games.
Doan will have help. In addition to the late-comers, Matthew Lombardi posted 19 goals and 34 assists in 78 games, while Vrbata added a team-leading 24 goals and 43 points in 82 games. Upshall was also contributing nicely with 18 goals in 49 games before going down with a season-ending knee injury.
However, it likely won't be offense that will carry the Coyotes. While they ranked just 24th in the NHL with 211 goals, they allowed the third-fewest goals in the league at 196.
Bryzgalov will man the pipes after a 42-20-6 season that saw him post a 2.29 goals-against average (sixth-best in the league) and .920 save percentage. He also finished second in the NHL with eight shutouts and has been very good in the playoffs before coming over to Phoenix. Bryzgalov got into 16 games with the Ducks in the 2006 and '07 playoffs, going 9-5 with a 1.68 GAA and three shutouts.
While the Coyotes are a surprising playoff team, the only thing shocking about Detroit's 19th straight trip to the postseason is the Red Wings being a fifth seed. The Red Wings, who have won two straight Western Conference titles, had their eight-year run as Central Division champions end this year and enter the postseason lower than a two seed for the first time since a fourth-place finish in 2002.
But, Detroit has momentum on its side, posting a 16-3-2 mark since the league returned from the Olympic break. The Wings also won 10 of the 12 games to close out the regular season.
The Red Wings are also healthy, finally. Johan Franzen managed 21 points in 27 games after missing the first 55 games due to left knee surgery, while Valtteri Filppula, Dan Cleary, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams and Kirk Maltby all played in less than 65 games this year. All should be ready to skate in Game 1 tonight.
Injury, as well as offseason losses of Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler, took its toll on Detroit's offense, which finished just 14th with 223 goals scored. After having four 30-goal scorers a year ago, Pavel Datsyuk led the club with 27 goals and was tied with Henrik Zetterberg for the team lead with 70 points.
It wouldn't be Red Wings playoff hockey without Nicklas Lidstrom, a multiple Norris Trophy winner who leads all of this year's playoff participants in postseason games (235) and points (165) while coming in second behind Boston's Mark Recchi with 46 goals.
However, Lidstrom's regular-season point total was down to just 49 this year, his lowest output since 2003-04, while fellow blueliner Brian Rafalski had 42. Still, the duo remain reliable rocks at the blueline, while Brad Stuart, Brett Lebda, Jonathan Ericsson and Kronwall round out a defensive unit that was seventh in goals allowed (207).
The biggest question for the Red Wings could come in goal, where rookie Jimmy Howard enters as the No. 1 over veteran Chris Osgood, and will be making his postseason debut. Howard won the role after going 37-15-10 with a 2.26 GAA and .924 save percentage, winning 10 of his final 11 starts.
It is unknown if Howard will be on a short leash due to his playoff inexperience and Osgood did rebound from a sub par 2008-09 season to lead the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Detroit and Phoenix split four regular-season meetings this year, though both of the Coyotes wins came in overtime. One bright spot for the Coyotes versus the Red Wings was their power play, which clicked at a 26.7 percent in the series.
The Red Wings and Coyotes will be meeting in the postseason for just the third time and first since Detroit eliminated Phoenix in six games in the 1998 conference quarterfinals. Detroit also finished off Winnipeg in six games of the opening round of the 1996 playoffs.
Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Friday night in Phoenix.
Penalty Kill FAIL: Special Teams The Difference In Detroit Loss
Oh, you mean we're supposed to stop the other team from scoring when they have a power play? That's the question they're asking over at SBN's Winging It In Motown this Thursday morning, one night after losing to the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
Apr 15 12:46p by Travis Hughes - 0 comments