SB Nation - Adrian Aucoin

Islanders All-Decade Team: The Defensemen

Dominik — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:50:59 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Radek Martinek: Spans most of the decade, displaying so much potential, so much injury.

Our fabrication of an Islandes All-Decade Team for the 2000s continues with the defensemen. For the all-decade goalie post and vote, go here.

For my money, three of the better Islanders defensemen made a hell of a trio at the beginning of the decade, while the fourth one only pulled on the NYI crest at the tail end of this span but is fast rising up the decade's points and games played list.

Points -- and points per game -- isn't really the ideal way to rank defensemen, but with the discussion of blueliner quality being so multi-faceted, it's the best shorthand we've got. Plus, while the first job of a defenseman is to help keep pucks out of the net, the ones who are truly elite bring offense to the table, too. As for the balance between one and the other -- we can call that "The Marc-Andre Bergeron Question" -- that's a debate that shall rage on 'till the end of time.

After the jump (which is after the poll, if you're on the main page), some stats for the blueliners who have tallied the most points and games played. You can only vote for one defenseman in this poll, but that software limitation may have an unintended benefit: We'll simply name the top two vote getters to our team.

Speaking of the many incomplete ways to judge defensemen, the plus/minus tally on this list features some real howlers (introducing Brendan Witt, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais and Eric Cairns: a collective minus-162 as Islanders!) -- and speaks to how plus/minus must always be considered in the context of the roster a player is on.

For example, Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson were each plus-10 for their Isles careers, playing for four different coaches in four seasons on teams that, total, gave up 54 more goals than they scored. Brendan Witt is minus-47 for his Islanders career, playing parts of four seasons for two coaches on teams that have given up 149 more goals than they scored (as of Dec. 21, 2009). Witt's total isn't just hurt by the fact he's not an offensive defenseman and he's not a fit for Scott Gordon's system -- it's also affected by the fact the Islanders squads he's been on have bled goals.

	Player	From	To	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	ESG	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	G/G	A/G	PTS/G
1	Roman Hamrlik	2001	2004	300	43	110	153	10	325	27	14	2	9	734	0.14	0.37	0.51
2	Kenny Jonsson	2001	2004	291	31	85	116	10	102	16	13	2	2	412	0.11	0.29	0.4
3	Adrian Aucoin	2002	2004	235	33	80	113	47	186	17	16	0	4	620	0.14	0.34	0.48
4	Radek Martinek	2002	2010	389	18	69	87	-5	237	16	1	1	4	439	0.05	0.18	0.22
5	Chris Campoli	2006	2009	228	20	63	83	-40	128	14	4	2	4	285	0.09	0.28	0.36
6	Mark Streit	2009	2010	111	20	54	74	4	92	7	12	1	1	227	0.18	0.49	0.67
7	Bruno Gervais	2006	2010	238	6	45	51	-43	113	5	1	0	1	240	0.03	0.19	0.21
8	Janne Niinimaa	2003	2006	136	11	33	44	3	140	6	5	0	2	131	0.08	0.24	0.32
9	Tom Poti	2007	2007	78	6	38	44	-1	74	0	6	0	1	134	0.08	0.49	0.56
10	Alexei Zhitnik	2006	2007	89	7	33	40	17	128	4	3	0	1	148	0.08	0.37	0.45
11	Marc-Andre Bergeron	2007	2008	69	15	24	39	-9	26	3	12	0	2	151	0.22	0.35	0.57
12	Brendan Witt	2007	2010	239	5	29	34	-47	317	5	0	0	0	205	0.02	0.12	0.14
13	Freddy Meyer	2007	2010	141	7	23	30	-19	80	7	0	0	3	123	0.05	0.16	0.21
14	Brent Sopel	2006	2006	57	2	25	27	-9	64	0	2	0	0	121	0.04	0.44	0.47
15	Sean Hill	2007	2007	81	1	24	25	6	110	1	0	0	0	88	0.01	0.3	0.31
16	Eric Cairns	2001	2004	251	7	17	24	-32	595	7	0	0	1	110	0.03	0.07	0.1
17	Andy Sutton	2008	2010	112	6	18	24	-1	162	6	0	0	1	106	0.05	0.16	0.21
18	Bryan Berard	2008	2008	54	5	17	22	-17	48	1	4	0	2	87	0.09	0.31	0.41
19	Garry Galley	2001	2001	56	6	14	20	-4	59	2	4	0	0	94	0.11	0.25	0.36
20	Dick Tarnstrom	2002	2002	62	3	16	19	-12	38	3	0	0	0	59	0.05	0.26	0.31

First let me tell you, for comedy's sake it was really hard to know where to cut this list off. A 56-player list doesn't look so hot on this page, so I encourage you to go to Hockey-Reference for the full list, where you'll find promising current Islander Jack Hillen just below the cutoff, along with Zdeno Chara, whose Islanders tenure just nipped into this decade.

Plus, you've got your Deron Quints, Brett Skinners, Mathieu Birons and the Great Alexander Karpovtsev. So you've got that goin' for ya ... which is nice.

As for who deserves your All-Decade vote? I'm not sure what criteria should push you over the edge. Longevity? Number of years in a uniform? Who was absolute best in an Isles uniform, regardless of time? Or simply who is the best defenseman you'd want in his prime (in which case Chara enters the debate)?

I'd probably have three different answers for each of those questions. While "longevity" and "Radek Martinek" rarely appear in the same sentence, he has ironically had the longest tenure both in years and in {shock!} games played; in some ways he aptly represents the decade. For lengthy stellar tenure, I'd give the nod to Kenny Jonsson -- though I can see a compelling argument for Hamrlik and Aucoin as well. I may be choosing Kenny over Roman strictly for likability reasons.

(Speaking of Aucoin, when I whine about the summer 2009 missed opportunity to upgrade the blueline, he's who I most have in mind. While you never know where a player is interested in heading, for my money if Aucoin was willing to go to the uncertain desert, he could have been talked into returning to the Island, allowing the Isles to twice buy low and potentially sell high on the guy. Just imagine the powerplay with him and Streit at the points.)

Anyway, for the final question of who is the best defenseman overall, despite his regression this year I'm still tempted to say Mark Streit. He's the highest points-per-game producer of the bunch, he's an undeniable two-way threat, and although he's only been with the team for a year and a half, he's got the sixth most blueline points on this list and has already logged 111 games. But again, I'm prone to a recency/likability bias.

I can't tell you how to vote. Favorite player? Representative of the decade as a whole? Best pure guy? It's your call. Write-ins, explanations, and remorse over what could have been are also encouraged in comments.

Poll

Who is your first pick for defense on the Islanders 2000s All-Decade Team?

Game 35 Preview: Desert Dogs invade Columbus

Mike MacLean — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:05:36 -0000

More photos » by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

Browse more photos »

I've got to admit, watching the Jackets tumble down the standings is no fun at all. Not to say that I am a fair-weather fan- because I will be loyal to this team no matter what- but I'd be lying if I said it's difficult to find the energy to be passionate about the team right now.

The pieces are in place to win. The system is in place to win. The schedule has favored the Jackets so far this season, at least on paper, but they can't beat the teams they are supposed to. If they could only give a total effort, they might still be at the top of the standings where they were in October.

Tonight's game sees some interesting line combinations- the Dispatch is reporting that the top line will consist of Umby, Chimmer and Nasher, with Chimmer playing center. The second line has the "Killer Vees" reunited, a combination of Jake and Vermy, who started the season out great together. The third line, the " Tre-Kroner" line has the three Swedish forwards playing together, while the fourth line see Brass buried between Murr-Dogg and Boller. Interesting to say the least. It's obvious that the top line consists of the three forwards who are playing the best right now. Mase gets the start.

EDIT: Looks like Hitch is going with Garon tonight, interesting move.

Phoenix has been a tough play at home, but they played last night, shit-kicking the Leafs in Toronto. This could go either way, either the 'Yotes build off their momentum or they will show up fatigued. My guess is that with their sound defensive system they will still be fresh, and the Jackets need to be ready for that. To ensure a victory, the Jackets need to set the tone early, not fall into the trap that Phoenix will set. The first goal or two will be crucial tonight.

Fearless Prediction :I'm not going to predict a damn thing tonight. I am going to watch the game, and hope for a win.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Five For Howling

Game Page: Coyotes vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Coyotes vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Anybody remember the last time the Blue Jackets established a forecheck? The Jackets won 2-0 in Phoenix on Oct. 10, but the Coyotes got even Oct. 28, a 4-1 victory in Nationwide. Phoenix has won the past four games in Nationwide, outscoring the Blue Jackets 16-7. Phoenix won 6-3 last night at Toronto.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

R.J. Umberger	Jason Chimera	Rick Nash
Raffi Torres	Antoine Vermette	Jakub Voracek
Kristian Huselius	Samuel Pahlsson	Fredrik Modin
Andrew Murray	Derick Brassard	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Mathieu Roy

Mathieu Garon

Steve Mason

EXTRA: Michael Blunden, Marc Methot

INJURED: Rostislav Klesla, Derek Dorsett

Phoenix Coyotes

Shane Doan	Matthew Lombardi	Scottie Upshall
Petr Prucha	Martin Hanzal	Radim Vrbata
Taylor Pyatt	Robert Lang	Peter Mueller
Vernon Fiddler	Daniel Winnik	Lauri Korpikoski

Zbynek Michalek	James Vandermeer
Keith Yandle	Ed Jovanovski
Adrian Aucoin	Sami Lepisto

Jason LaBarbera

Ilya Bryzgalov

Here come the Coyotes

James Mirtle — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:59:00 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Busy day here, as you can imagine, with our friends the Phoenix Coyotes in town to face Toronto. My preview story is here, with some good thoughts from Adrian Aucoin on playing to an empty house and how the organization has been run amidst the turmoil.

He also says the reason they've been so successful this season is (1) the play of Ilya Bryzgalov and (1a) coach Dave Tippett. Given their statline this season, I'm expecting a strong defensive effort from Phoenix tonight.

David Shoalts is at the board of governor's meetings in California, meanwhile, and has a handle on the latest business developments involving the desert dogs.

UPDATE Another update on all things Leafs and Coyotes from the teams today. Mike Komisarek was the only one I could get to touch a Coyotes question, and he said every player realizes the situation can now affect their bottom line:

"Hopefully it works out down there for them. I don’t know if they’re going to keep the team there or relocate. It’s out of my hands. Obviously now, with escrow and stuff like that, you want profitable, successful franchises. The big question is 'is that the right situation down there?'"

Bryzgalov was being a jokester, too, as he often is.

Beat Down in the Desert; Stars Blown Out, 5-2

Brandon Bibb — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:58:33 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Browse more photos »

I'll keep this short and say for those of you who had Dish Network tonight or had some other commitment that prevented you from watching tonight's game, consider yourself lucky.

Because this one was a complete wreck tonight. No, not like back your car into a hydrant and your neighbor's tree right out of the driveway ugly. At least the Stars waited until the second period to let this one get out of hand.

But tonight's game is still a strong contender with the Columbus game from last week for Worst Game of the Year.

Like Ralph said, this one was a manageable 1-0 lead going into the second. But it became 4-0 by the close of the period primarily thanks to horrible defending that constantly left Marty Turco out to dry and left him faultless in my book.

He was probably faultless to a large degree in Marc Crawford's book as the Stars' coach invoked a mercy pulling and got Turco out of there after the 4th goal.

If there is a player tonight who deserves the lion's share of the blame, it's Matt Niskanen, whose matador defending helped set up Lauri Korpikoski's first career NHL goal to open the flood gates in the second. And for good measure, Nisky was a part of that mess of defenders who allowed Adrian Aucoin to step in from the ladies' tees and make it 4-0 just moments after Korpikoski scored his second of the game to make it 3-0.

Sure, give them some marks for not quitting in the third after Zbynek Michalek's marker made it 5-0. But those goals from Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro will simply go down as garbage time goals that nobody will remember from this game.

The only saving grace is that the game was over so early that the Stars, in theory, didn't use up a lot of their energy reserves and will be fresher come tomorrow night. Which if that's the case...GREAT!!!

Because last I checked, the Coyotes don't have a Vincent Lecavalier or a Steven Stamkos on their roster.

We'll have more tomorrow, of course, from our stable of contributors.

DBD's Three Stars:

1. Lauri Korpikoski (PHX) - Funny name. Serious game. At least from the flying Finn tonight with his first two career goals.

2. Scottie Upshal (PHX)- I know why the Flyers made the trade to get him last spring. Still think it was a mistake to let this talented forward go.

3. Matthew Lombardi (PHX) - Some people carved up a Thanksgiving turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Lombardi celebrated this holiday weekend by carving up the Stars' defense with his passing prowess.

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.

Phoenix Coyotes Upend Red Wings 3-2 in Overtime, Win Fourth Straight

OdinMercer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:48:19 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

2 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Adrian Aucoin, middle, celebrates his game-winning goal against the Detroit Red Wings with teammates Peter Mueller, left, and Vernon Fiddler (38) during overtime of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Browse more photos »

The Detroit Red Wings were dominant for 55 or so minutes of Thursday's game, but it only took the Phoenix Coyotes about 4:30 to snatch victory away and walk out with 2 points in hand.

Early in the game the Coyotes looked like their normal selves, at least how they've looked so far this season. It was a defensive battle through the majority of the 1st period with the Coyotes getting a few more shots than the wings, but up until the last couple of minutes it was a fairly even game. With 3:30 left in the period Matthew Lombardi slapped one out of the air and in on the Power Play to take the lead. That was short lived however, as with just :20 seconds remaining Tomas Homstrom got a tip in to even it up. The goal deflated the play of the Coyotes in the following period as Detroit took control of the game. While the defense and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov held the Wings at bay, it was clear Detroit was dictating the play and weren't allowing the Coyotes much room to do anything. at the 7:45 mark Brett Lebda put a wrister by Bryzgalov off a nice pass by Pavel Datsyuk.

The Third Period was more of the same through the first 15 minutes. The Coyotes kept trying to get going, but Detroit shifted to a heavy forecheck and a defensive style to keep the Coyotes down. but the Coyotes were able to break out of that a bit and late in the period Petr Prucha tied it up on a dirty goal. Both Prucha and Vrbata kept digging away in front of Chris Osgood. Osgood didn't have the puck covered and as the Detroit defense kept checking and pushing the pair into the net Prucha got a stick on it and put it past the goalline. Mike Babcock was not happy about it being called a goal as he thought Osgood was pushed in, but the puck was never fully possessed by Osgood so it stood even after a review. The Coyotes continued to put pressure on a clearly disheartened Red Wings team for the remainder of the period, but the game went to overtime.

In the Extra frame it went back and forth for a short time, but just 1:57 into extra time Adrian Aucoin put a wrister in from the top of the circle that Chris Osgood tipped up and into the net. Osgood opened up his stick side to try and hit it down, but instead it travelled up the blade and into the net.

The Coyotes have now won their last 4 games and are the first this season to defeat both the Penguins and Wings, last year's conference champions. The Coyotes next face the LA Kings on Saturday.

Looking at the Phoenix Coyotes

MrNorrisTrophy — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:57:51 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Browse more photos »

Phoenix Coyotes: 5-2-0 10 pts

Key Wins: 3-0 over Pittsburgh (Penguins only loss thus far), 1-0 and 3-2 over San Jose, 4-0 over Boston

With an off-season of highly publicized turmoil surrounding the front office woes and the Jim Balsillie bid for the team, not much was expected out of the team from the majority of the outsider opinions. Add in the resignation of one of the game's greatest players in Wayne Gretzky from his head coaching position, and expectation were lowered even further. In steps former Dallas coach Dave Tippett to fill the coaching void and bring a new attitude to the team.

Category	Stat	NHL Rank	Leading…	Stat	Player
Goals per game	2.43	20th	Scorer (Points)	6 (1 G, 5 A)	Shane Doan
Goals Against per game	1.43	1st	+/-	+4	Aucoin/Vandermeer
Power play	20.6%	17th	Hits	17	James Vandermeer
Penalty kill	84%	11th	PIM	23	Martin Hanzal
Shots per game	30.7	17th	Shots	32	Ratim Vrbata
Shots against per game	26.9	6th	Blocked Shots	9	Aucoin/Jovanovski
Faceoff percentage	52.8%	7th	Faceoffs	61.7%	Vernon Fiddler
PIM per game	11.9	13th	Wins	5	Ilya Bryzgalov
PP drawn	34	10th	GAA	1.14	Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov has found a home in Phoenix as the starting goalie and has proved he is more than capable. He can shut the door on the best of teams on any given night and its helps that the defense around him is limiting the number of shots he has to face. With a good faceoff percentage and a tough defense, the Coyotes present real problems for this Red Wings team.

Players to watch on offense: Shane Doan, Peter Mueller, Petr Prucha

Players to watch on defense: Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin

Five For Howling is the SBNation affiliate for the Coyotes. Check 'em out.

Coyotes Beat Down Bruins 4-1: "Tired" Excuses Begin Immediately

OdinMercer — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:43:38 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas was sooooo tired after his game against the Dallas Stars on the previous night, that he takes a nap as the Coyotes score a goal.

Browse more photos »

The Coyotes simply owned the Boston Bruins last night, beating them 4 -1. The Coyotes dictated from the outset exactly how the game would go. They intercepted passes, broke up plays and worked hard for every puck. Anytime there was a group of players fighting for possession a Coyote took it out of the bunch. The Coyotes just looked hungrier in every possible way. IS that what the homer announcers on NESN said? or TSN? No instead they made excuses for the Bruins. "They were tired from playing a back to back" etc. We were "surprisingly competitive" or otherwise stunned a sleep deprived team. Bull. We took our game straight at the Bruins and they folded.

From the outset the Coyotes as a team decided that everyone in a Bruins jersey that touched the puck was going to get hit (even Chara once or twice). While the Bruins were able to collect a few shots on goal, in general they weren't getting any type of rhythm going once they got the puck into the zone. there was little to no pressure as Bryz would swallow up the puck, or the defensive effort would simply turn them away.

Each of the Coyote goals were scored because the team had a plan or used it's speed to set up plays. Two power play goals were scored by defensemen pinching to get the rebound (the Ed Jovanovski and Keith Yandle goals) Adrian Aucoin scored when a wrist shot defelcted of a Bruins player and off Tim Thomas's leg pad. And Scottie Upshall basted a slapshot over Thomas glove hand. None of the goals were weak, they were simply ones where the Coyotes players had a plan of what they were going to do and executed it. Shane DOan had assists on 3 of the goals despite battling "flu-like symptoms" all day. That's a Captain for you.

As for the Boston goal, it was a good shot, but Ilya Bryzgalov had made saves on better ones all night. The Shot from Mark Stuart just bounced between the legs and past him. A weak goal to lose the shutout to, but hey, 4-1. I'll take it.

This type of win will keep happening if teams come in unprepared for the Coyotes to play like this. Let's hope Detroit thinks they're better than us too.

Coyotes Season Opener Preview - Game #1 Vs. Los Angeles Kings

OdinMercer — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:30:26 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

Ilya is ready to stop you. After he gets some hot dogs.

Browse more photos »

Gametime - 7:30 , broadcasting on FSNAZ in HD and on XTRA 910 AM

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Not Christmas, COYOTEMAS! Sure we've had a couple days of regular season hockey involving other teams, but now it's go time for our guys. After and offseason not lacking in off the ice drama and a preseason coaching change it's time to get down to the actual playing.

The Coyotes have been interesting to watch this preseason and Ilya Bryzgalov looked good in his last start against the San Jose Sharks. Shutting them out as the Coyotes won 2-0. Bryzgalov will be in net again tonight in an arena the Coyotes are 5-2-0 in over the last 7 meetings.

On the Forward side of things Robert Lang is ready to go after being signed last week. If he can bring any of the scorring touch he had before his injury last year then it's a solid pick up for the Coyotes. Lang will be on a line with Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker according to the Coyotes website.

No idea on the rest of the lines, though we know Taylor Pyatt is out for another couple of week.

On the Kings front they'll be going with a top line of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams. Our favorite Doan check target Wayne Simmonds will be playing tonight too... We can only hope for something like this...

FIVE FOR WINNING

Get Doan Started Early - Shane Doan has only had 1 point so far in the preseason. It's easily explained away since you're giving ice time to players that are trying to earn spots, but still concerning as with the exception of last year Doan is notorious for his slow starts. We can't rely on him to carry the team, but at the same time, he's crucial to our success.

Get the D Flowing - With the overhauled defense we should hopefully cut down on the flubs that coninually cost us games last year. Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer aren't flashy, but they do get the job done defensively. I want to see them stifle the Kings tonight.

Keep Up the Momentum in Goal - Bryz had a strong showing in the game against the Sharks, but now we're playing for real. Going back to the previous point, hopefully the improved D can give him some more confidence that he was lacking last year.

Protect the Blue - One thing I saw in that Sharks game was that the Coyotes were finally protecting their own zone. Rarely were people just walking in like they usually did, the other team actually had to play the dump and chase instead of just us. Keep that up and the Goals Against will be down significantly from last year.

Get the Young Guys Started Right - Peter Mueller especially needs to get going this season in a hurry. After an outstanding rookie year, he hit the sophomore jinx hard last year. He doesn't need to score a couple of goals tonight (Though that would be great) he just needs to gain some confidence and look like a threat in the first few games. Hanzal and Boedker would be nice to see putting up points too. Boedker is getting first line minutes with Doan tonight so we'll see if he can contribute. Hanzal just need to start shooting more frequently. He has a wicked cannon of a shot, but chooses to pass frequently.

GO YOTES!

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Phoenix Coyotes

James Mirtle — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

Browse more photos »

Who's in: Adrian Aucoin, Vernon Fiddler, Lauri Korpikoski, Jason LaBarbera, Taylor Pyatt, Jim Vandermeer, Radim Vrbata
Who's out: Nigel Dawes, Todd Fedoruk, David Hale, Dmitri Kalinin, Ken Klee, Enver Lisin, Brian McGrattan, Brandon Prust, Steven Reinprecht

Outlook: Few eyes were on the Coyotes on-ice woes in the summer.

With the team awash in debt and owner Jerry Moyes unwilling to offset losses that rose to about $30-million on hockey operations in 2008-09 alone, the club was put into bankruptcy in early May with Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie offering a $212.5-million stalking horse bid to buy and relocate the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario.

The resulting court battle made front page news throughout the rest of the playoffs and into the off-season, and in many ways, has overshadowed anything that GM Don Maloney did with the player personnel.

Despite the financial turmoil, however, Phoenix kept its payroll relatively level, trading Steve Reinprecht and waiving Nigel Dawes but adding some useful parts in defencemen Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer along with former 27-goal man Radim Vrbata and checking forward Vernon Fiddler.

This will again be one of the youngest teams in the league, and its compete level will come down to gains made by the youth already on the roster. Expect more from the likes of Peter Mueller, Matt Lombardi, Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker, all of whom have at least 50-point potential in the right environment and will get plenty of ice time to do so this season.

Where Phoenix desperately needs to improve is on special teams, as they were in the basement in both categories last season, and having a deeper veteran defence core should ease some of the load on players in those situations.

Ultimately, the pieces are here for some upward momentum, but the nasty off-ice battle will likely influence how the team performs and potential salary cuts Maloney has to make. If the Coyotes can make the postseason amidst the bankruptcy proceedings and falling attendance, it'll be one of the top stories of this season.

The odds are against it.

X-factor: Martin Hanzal

For a more in-depth Coyotes preview, visit Five For Howling
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Coyotes finish in the Western Conference?

1

7 votes

2

0 votes

3

1 votes

4

1 votes

5

1 votes

6

2 votes

7

6 votes

8

12 votes

9

4 votes

10

4 votes

11

6 votes

12

12 votes

13

17 votes

14

41 votes

15

105 votes

219 votes | Poll has closed