SB Nation - Shane Doan

Red Wings defeat Phoenix 3-2; Lose Ericsson

joehass — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:32:19 -0000

Patrick Eaves celebrates his goal Monday night.

While the Detroit Red Wings were happy to match their longest winning streak of the season at three games with a 3-2 win against the Phoenix Coyotes, it became a pyrrhic victory in the middle of the second period when defensemen Jonathan Ericsson collided with Shane Doan.

Ericsson had to be helped off the ice and did not play the rest of the game. Coach Mike Babcock did not know the extent of the injury at the end of the game tonight.

If Ericsson misses tomorrow's game, it will be the eighth Red Wings player out with an injury right now.

For Kris Newbury, who was called up from Grand Rapids earlier today to fill Darren Helm's roster spot, he jumped into the action early.

Just 23 seconds after leaving the penalty box on a goaltender interference call, Kris Draper came flying up the boards to the left of Ilya Bryzgalov. Draper was trying to set up Brad Miller, but the pass was out of his reach. As it turned out, Newbury was also coming down the pipe. Newbury outskated Martin Hanzel to make it 1-0 on Newbury's first goal as a Red Wing.

Five minutes later, with Newbury back in the box on another penalty, Patrick Eaves took advantage of a Phoenix turnover and went from end-to-end to put a beautiful wrister on the top shelf past Bryzgalov to give the Red Wings a two-goal lead with his third goal of the season.

After the Doan/Ericsson collision left Ericsson in a pile on the ice to the left of Jimmy Howard, the Coyotes kept control of the puck to prevent a whistle. Taylor Pyatt held onto the puck, deked past a couple Wings and put it past Howard for his fifth of the season.

In the second, Justin Abdelkader sent a pass to Derek Meech mid-ice. Meech fired off a knuckle shot that took a funny bounce, went off Bryzgalov's glove and found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

But with 37 seconds left in the second, Martin Hanzal backhanded a pass to Radim Vrbata, skating along the boards to the left of Howard. Vrbata's attempt went off Todd Bertuzzi's stick, which altered direction just enough to get it past Howard to cut the lead back down to one.

Neither team would score in the third. Howard and Bryzaglov each ended the evening with 29 saves.

The Red Wings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Player Of The Game: Patrick Eaves. While Kris Newbury had an eventful first game, Eaves played 19:14 and got the key second goal that helped the Wings hold off the Coyotes.

Coyotes vs. Sharks - Game Preview #32 - No Boats, No Swimming

OdinMercer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:35:50 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

2 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes left wing Lauri Korpikoski (29), from Finland, scores past San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), from Russia, during the shootout of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. The Coyotes won, 1-0 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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It's a lazy Saturday here in the Mercer household, so here's your slapdash preview of the Coyotes vs. Sharks game for tonight...

Battle of the Russian Olympic Team Goalies
As with the previous meeting between these two teams, I'm expecting a solid goalie battle between the two. Last time out neither goalie surrendered a goal and it ended up going to the shootout. Phoenix won on a Lauri Korpikoski shot to make it 1-0 after the contest. When these two teams match up the result is usually pretty epic.

Shut Down the Top Guys
Sounds basic, but Thornton, Heatley and Marleau can't be the ones to beat us. Make the SHarks find another hero for the night.

The First Line Needs to Find the Net
Shane Doan and Robert Lang have done everything but score over the last stretch. Both have been robbed by some amazing saves on great chances or hit posts. THey both just need to find some luck soon.

NO OVERTIME POINTS!
Getting really tired of the Pacific Division getting the loser point. San Jose has 7 OTLs this year as do the Kings. the Stars have 9! Don't get me wrong, if we're trailing late and and end up with one then great, but we can't keep letting opponents get them.

PK Still Perfect Over Last 6
We may have lost in Los Angeles, but we still kept them from scoring on the Power Play. Over the last 6 games the Coyotes have kept the opposition from scoring on 21 chances. Can't ask much more from the Penalty Killers.

Key Players

Ilya Bryzgalov

#30 / Goalie / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-3

Weight: 199

Born: Jun 22, 1980

Evgeni Nabokov

#20 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Jul 25, 1975

These are the guys the game is going to come down to. It's as simple as that. The teams in front of them have been good, but they win or lose on the backs of these guys.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	head	10/07/2009

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Douglas Murray	other-excused	12/12/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jody Shelley	other-excused	11/10/2009
Brad Staubitz	other-excused	11/16/2009

Coyotes at Kings - Game #31 Preview - Remember When We Owned the Kings?

OdinMercer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

9 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Scottie Upshall (8) scores against Minnesota Wild's Niklas Backstrom (32), of Finland, in the second period during an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Oh how I pine for the days of yesteryear. When the Kings couldn't buy a goal. When the purple defense was laughably porous. When no matter who they put in goal it wasn't enough to keep us from beating them. Those days have passed it seems, but not all is lost. While the Kings may be making a charge towards the top of the division, the Coyotes too have come out of the basement and are clawing their way up the standings. If no longer destroying the Kings every single time we face them is the price to be paid for overall success then I'll take it! Though I'm not quite ready to concede this game just yet...

FIVE FOR WINNING

PK vs. PP
The Coyotes have managed to deny their opponents on the last 18 power play chances. An 0 for 18 chances looks pretty great for one of the work penalty killing teams of last year. However. Against the Kings in three games this year the Coyotes have allowed them to score on 6 of the 12 chances they've had. Something is going to give tonight. Either the Coyotes will have tightened up and figured out the PK better or the Kings are going to go to town yet again as they are lights out against pretty much everyone on the power play, especially at home where they're 5th in home rink PP% at 24.5%

Can Taylor Pyatt's Scoring Streak Continue?
After a less than spectacular start Taylor Pyatt has been on fire the past three games getting a goal in each one. He's come up with a patented "Hold off the defender with one arm and tip the puck 5 hole move" Where he pretty much does exactly that. Though last game he got an incredible one timer from a Shane Doan pass that he beautifully weaved through two Wild defenders

Bryzgalov for Vezina?
Okay, maybe it's a little early for that, (Though not by much) but I don't think Coyote fans could have expected or wanted much more out of Ilya Bryzgalov so far this season. He leads the league in shutouts with 4. He's among the best in both save percentage and Goals Against Average. The defense has been there, but he's gone from a goalie that was suspect in the eyes on many fans, to the guy that's carried this team into contention. He'll need to be good again tonight as the Kings have been one of the few teams that have been able to score on the Russian. They've managed to score 7 goals in Bryz's 2 starts.

Get the Jump On Them Early
Sure it's always nice to get the early lead, but it will be critical to do so tonight. The Kings are coming over a hard fought 5-4 overtime victory against the Sharks last night and will (hopefully) be at least a little tired. The bigger reason though is that the Kings have shutdown teams late in games from making comebacks in the 3rd. If the Kings take a lead into the final frame they've won in all 13 instances.

Defrost the Power Play
While our Penalty Kill has been solid. Our Power Play has been ice cold. THough we've managed to put together our 5 game winning streak. We've done so without a single power play goal in the last 18 chances. Every goal we've scored in the past 5 has been at even strength. THat says a lot for how our team is working the 5 on 5, but we have to start converting some of those shorthanded chances if we want to climb up the standings any more than we already have.

Key Players

Shane Doan

#19 / Right Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 224

Born: Oct 10, 1976

Shane Doan has been racking up the assists lately but the team could use some more goals from him. Los Angeles seems to be the team for him to do it against as he's scored 3 goals in the 3 games against the Kings so far in the season series.

Wayne Simmonds

#17 / Right Wing / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-2

Weight: 183

Born: Aug 26, 1988

Wayne SImmonds has come a long way since last season when he was getting checked all over the place by Shane Doan. Now he's developing into quite the player for the Kings. He's riding a 6 game point streak in which he's been 4-4-8 and on the season overall he's 9-10-19 and an astounding +13. He's one of the players to keep an eye on with Ryan Smyth still out of the lineup.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Andrei Loktionov	shoulder	11/26/2009
Ryan Smyth	other-excused	11/18/2009

Coyotes Celebrate Cinco de Coyo(te), Bryzgalov Gets Shutout in 2-0 Win.

OdinMercer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:15:48 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

9 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov (30), of Russia, celebrates his shutout win with teammate Keith Yandle (3) at the end of the third period after an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Wild 2-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Woooooo! 5 wins in a row baby! Have a Margarita tonight because it's Cinco de Coyo! The fans around the arena were certainly high-fiving and celebrating and while there's still a long way to go, a shutout win over the Wild certainly made everyone feel good and elevated the Coyotes to 37 points on the season. It also sets up a matchup with the Kings on Thursday that will be for the fifth place spot in the West and 2nd in the division either way. But enough with standings and all that poppycock. To the gameness!

First of all I was really annoyed that Mikkel Boedker was a scratch tonight. I'm glad Peter Mueller got to come back and played fairly well but Mikkel Boedker has played his pants off lately and not gotten any reward for it. I get that Tippett doesn't want to use younger layers as that just doesn't fint into his scheme, but to call him up and use the minutes he's played pretty well and get no reward is disappointing at best. Then the guy I highlighted in the pregame Cal Clutterbuck, was a scratch as well as I guess he got some sort of illness that's been going around. His absence didn't really decrease the amount of hitting and all around scrapping as the teams would get into hitting matches and fights especially later in the game.

For the most part the game itself was an outstanding goalie battle. Both Ilya Bryzgalov and Niklas Backstrom were outstanding, but the Phoenix offense was just good enough to get a missed rebound past him for the first goal by Scottie Upshall. Then Shane Doan made a fantastic move to get the puck to Taylor Pyatt who scored his third goal in as many games. On the offensive end that was the entirety of the production offensively.

In the third period though the game started to get away from the officials in a big way. Mid way through the period Ed Jovanovski made a big hit on one of the Wild players (I can't recall who it was) but there was no penalty and the Minnesota players wanted to go after him. The hitting picked up in a big way after that with Winnik, Upshall and Jovo all getting hits on people within a short time. The emotions boiled over at the end of the game with a huge scrum in the corner. Keith Yandle threw a few punches in the middle of the crowd, but Vernon Fiddler grabbed a guy out of the pile and simply beat the hell out of him. Owen Nolan and Keith Yandle almost went after each other too, but the officials were able to clear the players off the ice so that the team and the crowd could celebrate what really mattered in Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some fines or suspensions handed out because of the after the horn activities.

Flames @ Coyotes Post-Game - Wake me When we Land in San Jose

Kent Wilson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:26:46 -0000

More photos » by Ross Franklin - AP

Not a bad game. Not a good one either. The Flames began well, spending the first three shifts in the Coyotes zone, but seemed to gradually fall into a state of malaise after that. By the time the third rolled around, the Coyotes were clogging the neutral zone as if Lemaire himself was in the building while the Flames to a man seemed to be sleep-walking around the rink. The poor ice conditions didn't help much either.

Bourque's debut on the top line was uneventful. There was a couple of instances where he helped keep the play alive in the offensive zone, but there were several others where the unit ended up corralled in the defensive end (as has been their custom most nights, no matter who the left winger might be). Despite being matched up against the combined might of Hanzal, Vrbata and Lepisto (who?), Iginla et al couldn't dent the scoresheet (although they did outchance the bad guys).

Moss continued his recent good play however, scoring the only Flames goal of the evening. No Calgary forward saw more of Shane Doan than Moss did and he ended up positive almost across the board, which is a pretty decent nights work all things considered.

Overall, The Coyotes played their ideal game while the Flames were mediocre; a disappointing way to follow-up their best game of the year in Nashville to be sure. It goes without saying that they'll have to be markedly better in San Jose tomorrow.

Coyotes at Ducks: Game Preview #27

zyllyx — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:04:30 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

Phoenix Coyotes center Martin Hanzal of the Czech Republic (11) shoots wide as Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller of Switzerland defends in the third period of a NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

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The Phoenix Coyotes bring an end to a grueling three-week stretch of games with only seven off days on Sunday with a divisional matchup with the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Sunday's game will be the third game already between the bitter rivals in the young season, each team with a victory apiece in the previous two tilts.

What Happened Last Game?

Really? You don't remember? It was an arena full of awesome! The Coyotes chased Marty Turco out of his net in a 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena. Lauri Korpikoski was the first star of the night after tallying his first two goals of the season, and linemates Scottie Upshall and Matthew Lombardi each had three assists to help the team to a convincing victory.

It was only the second time that the Coyotes have scored as prolifically, and the first margin of victory of three or more goals in 14 consecutive games. The young Mutts did everything on the Five For Winning Game Preview checklist except for one - keeping the penalties balanced - which means that when the Coyotes listen to their very wise and perceptive bloggers, success follows naturally.

Which means that I'd probably better make this

FIVE FOR WINNING

extra special for the game against Anaheim.

Play With An Edge
It's no secret. These teams hate each other. Lots of teams hate the Ducks because the Ducks play a hard-nosed, gritty, in-your-face style of play, but the Coyotes and Ducks seem to reserve their worst inclinations and loudest chirping for each other. It makes for some thrilling sideshows to go along with the hockey; it also makes for more than a few cheap shots like this "Elbow Heard Round The World" from James Wisniewski on Shane Doan. The proper response to such play, of course, is illustrated by Captain Coyote himself, to wit:

Now, as satisfying as that is to watch, a lot of the shenanigans that happen between these two clubs happen out of sight of the referees even with Chris Pronger douching it up in Philadelphia (I'm looking at you, Corey Perry). So the Coyotes will have to play with their heads up and be ready to weather some tough hockey.

Feel The Bryz
Let's not beat around the bush. There is nobody more motivated on the Coyotes' squad to beat this Ducks team than Ilya Bryzgalov, he of the hot dog fetish and unnaturally high falsetto. He was aiming for a league-leading fourth shutout against Dallas before a couple of quick third-period goals dashed his hopes. But, barring any last-minute change of policy or injury, the Mutts are going to roll with their number one goalie and his fourth-best-in-the-league 2.12 GAA again on Sunday. Extra motivation is always welcome, and any time Bryzgalov faces his former squad the motivation is there in spades.

Play Competent Hockey for Sixty Minutes
This may seem strange to those readers who are new to the Coyotes, but long-time fans will know exactly what I'm saying here. I mentioned this in the last game preview (so I'm a bit redundant - give me a break, I'm just a fill-in for The Big Guy). The Coyotes are playing good hockey for the first time in what seems like forever this season, and they're doing much better at giving a consistent effort through the whole game instead of for only a period or two. Let's not beat around the bush - for most of the past decade, the Coyotes have been lottery candidates and for good reason. My wife attends games very infrequently - partially because she hated the way the Coyotes kept losing so embarrassingly. She was at the Dallas game last night and said (this is verbatim): "I didn't think these guys would ever learn how to play hockey... but I guess I was wrong." So, Coyotes, keep it up!

Play Through The Pain
There's no question - the Coyotes are starting to feel the wear-and-tear of the 82-game NHL season. Factor in the "Olympic Squeeze" during November where they've played a whopping ten games in just over two weeks, and you've got a recipe for a lot of agony. Fortunately, there are a lot of young guys on the team roster to provide raw young health. But after Ed Jovanovski, Vernon Fiddler, and Peter Mueller all left the Dallas game early with injuries, Sunday's game might end up being one of survival of the fittest. There's still no word as of this writing whether any or all of those three players will be back in the lineup against Anaheim, but it's a sure bet that they're not the only ones feeling the weight of such a demanding schedule. Grit your teeth, boys - you'll have a four-day layoff to heal when this one's done.

Build The Streak
The Coyotes once again avoided losing three in a row with their win over Dallas on Friday. Astoundingly enough, the Coyotes haven't lost three in a row all season. That's the good news. The bad news is that they haven't built a win streak all month after a strong October. Sunday's game would be a great start for a winning streak. It is, after all, the holiday season - why not give your fans a gift of a few consecutive victories?

Key Players

Corey Perry

#10 / Right Wing / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 209

Born: May 16, 1985

Why? Corey Perry is one of those players that fans love to hate - he has a reputation for dirty play and cheap shots, and he rubs a lot of people the wrong way - but you just can't argue with his statistics. Perry already has 30 points this season (tied for 5th in the league) and is one of the hottest players around. This is a guy the Coyotes need to contain if they can - if they can't, it will be a long night for the Mutts.

Matthew Lombardi

#15 / Center / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-0

Weight: 198

Born: Mar 18, 1982

Why? Lombardi is one of the Coyotes' hottest players right now. He scored three assists against Dallas and has three assists against Anaheim in the two games between the clubs so far this season. Lombardi's speed and playmaking abilities will be crucial in generating offense against a Ducks team that is gaining momentum.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Vernon Fiddler	undisclosed	11/28/2009
Ed Jovanovski	other-excused	11/28/2009
Peter Mueller	other-excused	11/28/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Did You Know?

The Coyotes are seventh in the Western Conference, tied with 29 points with Nashville and Dallas. The Mutts are tied for sixth in the league in wins (14) after 26 games, are fourth in goals against per game, 12th in both PP and PK, and an incredible 7th in faceoff percentage.

Final Thought

OdinMercer has been gone since Wednesday, and while I have had a terrific time being the fill-in blogger here at Five For Howling, I'll be happy to let him have the keys back to the car. Don't worry, Big Guy, it may read empty on the gas gauge but there are still a few fumes left!

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Olympics Preview

Mike MacLean — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:30:34 -0000

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SBNation is doing a series of Olympic Previews, taking a look at each team and which of their players may be suiting up for their countries in Vancouver. As a baseline, we are going to give an indication of their chances of making their team by using these arguments: "Pack Your Bags", "Nearly a Lock", "Fairly Safe Bet", and "In a Battle". The Jackets have a few players who could become Olympians, here's a look at them:

Rick Nash (Canada) - Pack Your Bags
There is almost no way, outside of injury, that Nash will not be a member of Team Canada. In fact, he is penciled in by most as the man riding shotgun to Sidney Crosby. Nash has plenty of international experience in his young career, including being a member of the 2006 Olympic Team, which failed miserably. He is a more mature and complete player now, and will look to be an offensive leader for the Canucks at home in Vancouver. My favourite Nash goal at an international tournament didn't take place at the Olympics, it was at the World Championships, but here it is anyway:

Steve Mason (Canada) - In a Battle
At least he was at the beginning of the season, that is. Before the start of the regular season this year, many experts thought that when it came to Canada's goaltenders, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur were locks. The battle was for who the third goaltender was going to be. The three main contenders were Mason, Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward. With Ward's injury, that made it a two-horse race. The problem is, Mase never showed up. His play this season has been downright awful. I'm not a believer in sophomore slumps, but the proof is in the pudding here. Look for Fleury- who is coming off of a Cup win and is playing great right now-to get the third goalie nod.

Kristian Huselius (Sweden) - Fairly Safe Bet
The man we call Juice may not be on the top of the list of skilled Swedish forwards, but he is a strong candidate to be on the Swedish team. His last international exoerience was at the 2002 World Championships, where the Tre Kroner won the bronze medal. He has never played in an Olympics, but he is on the Swedish short-list for 2010.

Samuel Pahlsson (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Sammy will almost definitely be on the Swedish team in 2010. He helped the Swedes win the Gold Medal back in 2006 in Torino, playing on a line with Freddy Modin (more on him in a minute). A dedicated checking center like Pahlsson will be very important this time around, with the Olympics being in Vancouver, the games will be played on NHL-sized ice, meaning tighter checking.

Fredrik Modin (Sweden) - In a Battle
I saw that Freddy is in a battle, not necessarily with other players trying to make the team, but with his own body. After being lauded for his amazing durability, the last couple of seasons have been near write-offs for Freddy as he has been hit with injury after injury. That said, if he is healthy I can't imagine him not playing for the Swedes, even in a fourth line role. He is after all, one of the very few players who are a member of the Triple Gold Club.

Anton Stralman (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Stralman is off to a great start since joining the Jackets, putting up good point totals. He is one of the main reasons the Jackets' powerplay has gone from last in the league a year ago, to best so far this season. He has played in three straight World Championships for Team Sweden, from 2007-2009. The Swedish defensive corps are a talented group, with Anton fitting in nicely. With the injury to Kronwall, Stralman may see top line duty with Nick Lidstrom.

Jakub Voracek (Czech Republic) - Nearly a Lock
The Czechs are a team that always seems to surprise at international tournaments. Look no further than the '98 Olympics, where they took home the Gold based on the amazing play of Dominik Hasek. In 2010, the Czechs are a good team, and Voracek should be a member. He likely will play a third or fourth line role, with the top six wingers likely being Jagr, Hemsky, Prospal and Hejduk/Havlat.

Rostislav Klesla (Czech Replublic) - In a Battle
Rusty is a fringe player in terms of the Olympic team. He does have international experience, but he is in tough this time around. He has to beat out the likes of Kaberle, Kubina, Rozsival, Hamrlik, Spacek and Kuba. It's not completely impossible though, and with the smaller ice a rugged player like Rusty could shine.

Jan Hejda (Czech Republic) - In a Battle
Like Rusty, Jan is fighting for a spot. He's defense-first, which may help him because the guys he is fighting for a spot against are generally puck-moving types. He has international experience, his most recent was at the 2008 Worlds. Given the play of Jaro Spacek, one of Hejda or Klesla could make the squad.

Fedor Tyutin (Russia) - Nearly a Lock
The Russians have scary forwards, plain and simple. They are the most dynamic group in the world, hands down. That said, they don't have spectacular defense. A hybrid defenseman like Tyutin will fit in very well on the Russian squad, and he could see powerplay duty with Sergei Gonchar.

Nikita Filatov (Russia) - In a Battle
Filatov wasn't at the Russians Olympic came this past summer, but he is no doubt still very much on the radar of the National Team. With his recent return to Russia, his stock has certainly risen, but he is still in tough to make the squad, given their amazing talent and depth up front.

R.J. Umberger (United States) - In a Battle
I wanted to include Umby mainly because I believe that it is wrong that he wasn't invited to the Team USA camp. He is a much better player than a handful of guys who did get the invite, but it all has to do with his history with USA GM Brian Burke. Umby didn't sign with Vancouver, who drafted him in the first round when Burke was the GM. This led to bad blood, which has clearly carried over to the Olympics. RJ's play hasn't done much to convince Burke otherwise either.

To finish things off, being a Canadian I am excited as hell to have the Olympics here in my home country. After the disappointment of Torino, I, like every other Canadian, want to see the Gold come back to Canada. Here's my prediction of the Team Canada Olympic Roster:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Jarome Iginla
Dany Heatley - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Brendan Morrow - Mike Richards - Shane Doan
Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Martin St. Louis
Steven Stamkos

HM: Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards

Chris Pronger - Scott Niedermayer
Dan Boyle - Duncan Keith
Shea Weber - Jay Bouwmeester
Drew Doughty

HM: Brent Seabrook, Mike Green, Stephane Robidas

Roberto Luongo
Martin Brodeur
Marc-Andre Fleury

HM: Marty Turco

Gameday Preview: Dallas Stars @ Phoenix Coyotes (8:05p EST)

Brandon Worley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:38:24 -0000

Next Game

Dallas Stars (11-6-7, 7th in West)
@ Phoenix Coyotes (13-11-1, 9th in West)

Friday, Nov 27, 2009, 8:05 PM CST
Jobing.com Arena

TV: FSSW+
Radio: KTCK 1310 The Ticket

Opponent's Blog: Five For Howling

Complete Coverage >

Hopefully everyone had a safe and fun holiday yesterday, but now it's back to business. The Dallas Stars will attempt to fight off their tryptophan coma tonight as they take on the Phoenix Coyotes tonight in Glendale, Arizona.

The Stars are coming off of a four-game homestand, their first of the season, and went 2-1-1 in those games. Dallas was finally able to get into a pseudo-rhythm on home ice after an up and down start to the season. While you'd certainly hope for a better finish than the shootout loss to the Blues, at least you can be thankful the Stars did enough to pull a point out of the game. Every single game is incredibly important this early in the season, as just eight points separate 2nd in the West and 11th. The Stars gained a point on Wednesday, but have dropped two spots to 7th.

More importantly, the Stars have a chance to gain some ground in the race for the division title. While it seemed early on that San Jose will just run away with the Pacific, a win tonight will put the Stars five points back with a game in hand; it's still extremely early to be focusing on a division win but with such a surprisingly competitive division every point becomes important.

But that's big picture. Right now the Stars just need to focus on each game, one at a time. We've seen the team start to form some consistency over the past week and despite the loss two nights ago, you still had to be encouraged by the energy the Stars showed throughout (and yes, that is an important factor).

After the jump, a look at the Coyotes since we last saw them and some updates on the Dallas Stars; it's a Super Preview!!

The Dallas Stars:

After being recalled for just one game in case Karlis Skrastins couldn't play against the Blues, defenseman Maxime Fortunus was sent back to the Texas Stars. If the Stars have any more injury issues on defense, I'm hoping that Fortunus gets another chance to make his NHL debut. He is an extremely intelligent and solid defenseman and is a key part of the reason that Texas has done so well this season. He's an AHL veteran and was great in last season's playoffs and I think that if given a shot he could make a good impression in the NHL.

Fabian Brunnstrom made his debut Wednesday with Texas in his first game since his shoulder injury, going pointless and minus-1 in the 2-1 Stars shootout victory over Milwaukee (Warren Peters and Ivan Vishnevskiy scored in the shootout for the win). With him down in Austin and Brian Sutherby still on injured reserve (although he could come off today, I believe), expect to see the same lines as Wednesday night:

Neal - Richards - Eriksson
Ott - Ribeiro - Lehtinen
Morrow - Modano - Benn
Petersen - Wandell - Barch

We'll find out later today if Nicklas Grossman can play. If not, we'll get another great dose of Jeff Woywitka.

After the loss to the Blues, Marc Crawford mentioned that the lack of execution and defensive breakdowns was attributed to fatigue after playing four games in six nights. Hopefully they got some rest over the short holiday because the travel to Phoenix tonight, go back home to take on Tampa Bay tomorrow night and then travel once more to Detroit on Monday. Expect this for the rest of the season; fatigue is going to be an issue for every team and it's an excuse I'm tired of hearing.

No word as of yet as to who the starter will be tonight, although I would go with a rested Alex Auld against the Coyotes and play Turco tomorrow night against Tampa Bay. Marc Crawford is wily, however, and there's telling what their 'plan' may be for this weekend. His last hunch worked out however when he started Auld against the Red Wings, so I'll defer to him.

Here are some news and notes on the Stars from the last few days:

Andrew's Dallas Stars Page has a look at some special teams stats:

Statistically speaking, you can look at the Dallas Stars' special teams in more than one way. In the standard statistical view the power play is middle of the pack and the penalty kill is the in the bottom of third of the league. In another way of looking at the numbers, the power play is top ten and the penalty kill is middle of the pack.

Take the power play, for example. Through Wednesday's games it ranked 17th in the league at 17.4 percent in the usual way of looking at power play performance stats. Look at it a different way - power play goals per game - and it ranked seventh in the league at 0.92 per game.

The penalty kill ranked 23rd in the league at 77.9 percent through Wednesday, but if you look at power play goals allowed per game it was at 16th in the league at 0.79 per game.

The Dallas Morning News has a good story on Brad Richards, who is 4th in the NHL in overall scoring.

There are several reasons for the surge. Richards has found chemistry with young wingers James Neal and Loui Eriksson; he has taken over as the quarterback of the power play (a role Sergei Zubov held for better than a decade); and he simply is better than he has been in recent seasons.

Richards said he was disappointed with last season's injury-plagued campaign, and the Stars' inability to make the playoffs. He went to his summer home in Tampa, Fla. and worked out relentlessly, concentrating on leg work and skating, but also on finding the hunger in his game again.

"It obviously helped physically, but I think it helped mentally, too," he said.

Andrew's also has the audio from Brendan Morrow's appearance on BaD radio from Wednesday. What I found interesting was what he had to say about his fight with Tim Gleason.

The Phoenix Coyotes:

Since beating the Stars at home on November 14, the Coyotes have gone 2-3-1 and slid further down in the standings, including two straight losses on the road against Calgary and Edmonton. Five For Howling has an excellent preview up for the game, so I'm going to defer to them for the Coyotes point of view:

Attack the Goalie
Whether we get a big helping of Thanksgiving Turco or more of the same Auld Lang Syne, we need to make sure that the Stars' netminder earns his pay. Marty Turco in particular has proven to be less than bulletproof at Jobing.com Arena - he likes to play Superman, but the Coyotes in general and Shane Doan in particular seem to know where to find Kryptonite. The key against Turco is to have enough patience with the puck until he overcommits. Against Auld, who plays a less "flamboyant" style, the Coyotes simply have to dodge the "show up your old team" ethic that nipped them against Calgary. Tall Bald Auld is less aggressive in the crease than Turco, but he's also more porous - and as long as the refs and video review guys are paying attention the Coyotes can slip a few past him.

Clog the Slot and Crease
By now, we've all realized that there aren't any spectacularly-gifted offensive talents on the Coyotes' squad. And if we hadn't on Wednesday, TSN did a great job of reminding us about it. Over. And over. And over again. So since we apparently lack the creativity and precision it takes to snipe goals in from afar on a consistent basis, it would behoove the Desert Dogs to increase the close-in pressure between the circles and in front of the net. The Coyotes signed Taylor Pyatt for his big body and ability to create chances at the crease - his slow skating speed has looked out of place among the other faster forwards in the lineup when the team has dumped-and-chased. Parking guys like Pyatt, Paul Bissonnette, and Martin Hanzal in front of the goalie might smack of hunting for garbage goals... but let's be honest, right now any goal is a good goal for the offensively-challenged Coyotes.

There is much, much more so be sure to check it out.

Key Injuries:

Dallas: D Nicklas Grossman (groin) is questionable. C Brian Sutherby (groin) and RW Fabian Brunnstrom (shoulder) are out.

Phoenix: D Kurt Sauer (upper body) is out.

Oilers v. Coyotes - Nahum 3:18-19

Scott Reynolds — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:13 -0000

O leader of the National Hockey League, you were caught sleeping;
the owners you chose years ago, you have now disgraced.
Coyotes fans are scattered all around
with no one to gather them.

Nothing can heal this wound;
the injury is fatal.
Everyone who hears this news readies himself
to clap his hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?

Phoenix Coyotes (13-9-1) @ Edmonton Oilers (9-11-3)

Rexall Place, 7:00 P.M. MDT
Television: PPV

More analysis after the jump...

Visiting Team Scouting Report: The Oilers have needed to deal with a lot of injuries so far this season but so have the Coyotes. Their defence in particular is banged up with their top three defenders out of the lineup (Jovanvoski, Michalek and Sauer). This may give the Oilers some extra chances in the Coyotes end of the ice but should also serve as a warning for those of us who would like to use injuries as a reason for the Oilers having troubles. Is it factor? Certainly. Is it unique? Despite the number of man-games lost I'd have to say no and some of the other teams that have experienced similar injury problems have managed to do better. Back to the Coyotes. They're a much better team than I'd given them credit for at the start of the year and I think some of that is likely coaching. The new man in the desert is Dave Tippett who's doing an excellent job coaching a lot of quality depth players who have more glove than bat (to use a baseball analogy). Or something like that. When you see the lineup and then look at the record, it just seems inexplicable. At any rate, with so many defenders out of the lineup look for the Coyote forwards to help the defence deep in the zone when (or, since they're playing the Oilers, if) they get into trouble, which could open things up for the Oilers defence to get in on the scoring.

Expected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers (9-11-3):

Penner - Horcoff - Hemsky
Reddox - Brule - O'Sullivan
Moreau - Potulny - Cogliano
Jacques - Gagner - Stortini

Staios - Souray
Smid - Visnovsky
Strudwick - Gilbert

Deslauriers

Phoenix Coyotes (13-9-1)

Upshall - Lang - Doan
Prucha - Hanzal - Vrbata
Pyatt - Lombardi - Mueller
Winnik - Fiddler - Bissonnette

Yandle - Schlemko
Vandermeer - Aucoin
Lepisto - Heshka

Bryzgalov

Behind the Numbers:

Shane Doan leads the Coyotes in scoring with only 16 points in 23 games. The Oilers have three players with 16 points or more (Penner, Hemsky, Visnovsky).
The Coyotes are ranked 11th in the league in shot differential at +2.0 shots per game. No one has taken fewer shot per game and maintained a better shot differential than the Coyotes (28.9 shots for 26.9 shots against).
The Coyotes record in regulation time is 10-9-4 and 4-5-1 over their last ten games. The Oilers record is 7-11-5 and 2-6-2 over their last ten games.
The Prucha-Lang-Vrbata trio was together for a long time getting easier matchups and cherry starting positions (they had each taken about 20 more o-zone draws than d-zone draws), but they weren't providing enough offence so it seems that Tippett has decided to switch things up over the last couple of games. It will be fun to see how he matches up with Quinn's "roll them over the boards" strategy.

Referees factor into Coyotes win over Flyers

zyllyx — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:06:01 -0000

More photos » by Ross Franklin - AP

Philadelphia Flyers' Kimmo Timonen (44), of Finland, argues with linesman Thor Nelson after Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes scored a go-ahead goal in the third period after linesmen disagreed over an offsides call (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Browse more photos »

One of the unfortunate buzzworthy topics in the current NHL season has been the quality - or lack thereof - of the refereeing.

Disagreements with the boys in the zebra suits are part and parcel of professional sports fandom, but it seems as though the 2009-2010 NHL hockey season has had more than its share of borderline, questionable, and outright blown calls. The current joke - riffing on the now-infamous Brad May "non-goal" against the Dallas Stars - goes that the referees are exercising their "intent to suck."

Coyotes fans have had to weather bad refereeing in several games this year, but on Saturday night they found themselves in the strange position of having earned two points over the Philadelphia Flyers by virtue of two very questionable calls.

The Coyotes and Flyers were knotted at 1-1 heading into the third period when the first controversial call occurred. As the period moved past its halfway point, the Coyotes found themselves on the power play. While cycling the puck, Adrian Aucoin bobbled a pass by the Flyers' blueline above the right circle. The view from the left side of the ice was clear - the puck traveled across the blueline and the left linesman indicated offsides.

However, whether he was screened or whether he saw something that almost everyone in the arena didn't, the right linesman energetically waved off the offsides. The Flyers bench went ballistic and coach John Stevens erupted into passionate arguing. Unfortunately for the Flyers, play continued - Aucoin passed to Matthew Lombardi, who found Keith Yandle at the right circle. Yandle's rocket shot cleared Flyers goalie Ray Emery and the Coyotes took a 2-1 lead.

Scott Hartnell indicated that the confusion over the non-call contributed to the Coyotes' goal by distracting Emery. "You can't blame Ray for that one," Hartnell said. "He thought what we all did."

Although Yandle's goal would prove to be the game-winner, the controversy wasn't over. With just over 30 seconds to go in the game, Shane Doan found himself with the puck with Emery off the ice for a sixth attacker. Driving to the net, Doan passed Philadelphia's Chris Pronger, who reached out with his stick. Doan's shot dribbled past the right post, and then the play was blown dead with 39.9 seconds remaining as the Flyers gained control of the puck.

Pronger headed to the penalty box, arguing vehemently with the referees. But what looked to be a Coyotes power play turned into something strange as the Coyotes players suddenly began clapping Doan on the back. Eventually, the scoreboard changed to 3-1, Pronger was let out of the box, and the game ended in a welter of confusion. No goal horn, no replay, and more importantly no puck in the net. And yet, there it was - 3-1.

The referees, it turned out, had judged Pronger's hook to be worthy of a penalty shot. And according to the NHL's rule 26.1, which reads:

A goal will be awarded to the attacking team when the opposing team has taken their goalkeeper off the ice and an attacking player has possession and control of the puck in the neutral or attacking zone on, without a defending player between himself and the opposing goal, and he is prevented from scoring as a result of an infraction committed by the defending team.

...Doan was credited with an awarded goal... even though his eventual shot never got close.

Pronger, of course, was livid. "He (the referee) said I got him on the hands but I got him on the stick," he said after the game. "I disagree. I didn't think it should have been a goal. I didn't even think it was a penalty. He had his stick down. How am I going to get him on the hands when I lifted his stick?"

Needless to say, the Flyers fans in attendance at Jobing.com Arena - who made up almost half of the crowd of just over 11,000 - left disappointed, bewildered and more than a little bitter. But even Coyotes fans were filing out of the arena, more sheepish than jubilant after having two points essentially gifted to them by the refereeing crew. Some fans were already rationalizing the events of the game as karmic retribution for bad calls against them earlier in the season, but all around the arena there were signs of Coyotes fans in animated conversation with Flyers fans, most likely commiserating on a very strange end to a very strange third period.

It is now almost two months since Terry Gregson took over for Stephen Walkom as head of the NHL's officiating department, but games like the Coyotes - Flyers tilt are starting to draw some unwelcome attention in a season already rife with tension and pessimism from issues such Southern market struggles, the NHLPA fiasco, the player safety debate, and issues with DirecTV and VERSUS.

While it is true that the quality of officiating reaches an equilibrium over the course of a given season, the sheer weight of dispute this early in the campaign does not bode well for the NHL's officiating crews. Bad officiating is at least a nuisance, but on this scale any inaction on the part of the NHL will only spell bad publicity for the league.

Coyotes fans love having two more points - but to get them in such a controversial fashion makes some fans nervous. Who can tell whether later in the season the scales will shift to the other side?

Here is the video recap of the game from NHL Video - judge for yourself.