Coyotes 5, Kings 2

Last night the Coyotes beat the Kings 5-2.

We took our BEAT LA signs (compliments of the Dbacks game) and went down to the king’s end and started our taunting. We got the players and the cameraman’s attention. I have never been on the jumbotron in my life as much as I have these past two home games. While we were down there, I made sure to tell Jack Johnson he sucks. I also told Simmonds that Juvy wanted him back. I told a lot of players that they sucked. We laughed at the goalie. We got a few pucks shot at us. Like that would scare us. Oh yah, we also called them a bunch of Queens. Their jerseys have sparkly thread on them.

I sat in section 104. It’s a pretty good view of them game. We saw Rhino’s two goals on our end. I was so hoping he would have gotten the natural hat trick. The line Lisin-Rhino-Porter was looking good. Porter got a goal also. I am still not sure who is going to make the team but Porter made a pretty good case for himself last night.

Winnik works so hard out there. We all wanted him to get a goal. Even if he never gets a goal, he adds so much to the team. He works hard. He digs in the corners. He does everything he needs to do. He creates plays for his teammates.

Tiki had better make the team. That boy is all over the place. He does a lot of the same that Winnik does. He also got a goal last night.

Bryz did not let in one goal, which is rare for him. The one thing I don’t like about pre-season is they will replace a goalie after two periods, even if the goalie is doing awesome. So Telly comes in for the third and lets two goals in. I felt bad for Telly. It’s got to be hard to come in for the third.

Doan had a huge hit on Simmonds. The boy had to go back the bench and rest for a bit. Doan definitely rang that boy’s bell. Simmonds was PWND. There is a nice pic on the coyotes website of Simmonds on the ice, looking all confused.

Hanzal took a hit at one point and he looked like he was in pain. He was doubled over and took him awhile to get to the bench. There were a couple of times where it looked like Hanzal was grimacing in pain. I hope he didn’t try to come back too soon. I don’t want him to hurt his back any more than it already is.

Oh, I forgot to mention the look Carcillo gave Frodo. It was a death look. If it wasn't preseason and if Frodo had been more of a menace, I think Carcillo would have taken him out.

Well, that’s about all I got. I didn’t take notes.

Monday I am planning to hit up practice. This afternoon I am going to go skating. Haha

There isn’t another game until next Saturday. This will be our home opener against Columbus. I won’t have a blog after that game because on Sunday I will be leaving bright and early to go to Anaheim. Yup, we are going to go to Anaheim’s home opener against the Coyotes.

Ok, back to hockey!

I found this article on TSN: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=244291&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl#videoyourcallarticle

I agree with the revenue sharing but not moving teams back to Canada. He states, “"I mean the Canadian fans are like no others," he continued. "They're passionate, they come out and support it, they buy the merchandise, and they're knowledgeable about the sport.”

Wow, so does that mean us American fans are not passionate and know nothing about the sport? I’ve met many people in America that are both passionate and knowledgable. I think the main problem is, the league isn’t marketing the teams/sports the best in America. Everyone I have taken to a game has fallen in love with the sport. It takes time to get them to be knowledgable but if the sport was more out there, these fans could become more knowledgable.

He also states, “You know, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Quebec City, perhaps Halifax if they had an arena that could sustain an NHL team.” Am I mistaken but didn’t Winnipeg and Quebec already have hockey teams? Didn’t those teams start to lose money and were bought by Americans? Yah, so lets move the teams back and see if they do better. Initially, they may do better because it’s new but it will taper off. It did once before. Although maybe after losing their team, they have realized what they were missing out on. I say no moving of the teams and no adding new teams, especially right now with so much economic uncertainty and us taxpayers having to bail out all the irresponsible people who bought more house than they could afford.

I think the league needs to work on keeping the current teams where they are. Obviously the fans in Nashville cared enough to stop the Blackberry guy from buying their team. Their fans came out of the woodwork to protect their team. I think you would have that with other southern/southwest teams too. I know I would do whatever possible to keep the coyotes here (although, the lease with Glendale pretty much says that even if the team is sold, the new owner probably couldn’t pay the fines to move the team). Some fans are passionate but may not be able to support the team by buying tickets and merchandise. I would love to add a few more jerseys, sweatshirts and other items I’ve seen online to my collection but I’m not going to go into debt buying NHL licensed products. Some of their prices are just outrageous.

In other news, Mike York signed with Columbus Blue Jackets. This really surprised me. I was thinking York would be headed to Europe.
From the Hockey News:
York agreed to a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.Analysis: York is expected to add depth on the top three lines for the Blue Jackets. The 30-year-old York had six goals and eight assists in 63 gamers last season with Phoenix. During his eight seasons, he has 127 goals and 195 assists in 578 games with the New York Rangers, Edmonton, New York Islanders, Philadelphia and the Coyotes.

Top three lines? Were they watching him last year on the Coyotes? He was lucky if he made the top three lines! He also could barely crack the lineup by the end of the season. He was a healthy scratch quite a bit. I really think York’s time in the NHL is coming to an end. But then again, maybe he will have a great season with Columbus. I doubt it though.

According to Spector’s Fredrik Sjostrom has signed a one year deal with the Rangers worth 840K. The link is in Swedish, so I am trusting that Spector’s has translated this correctly. I am happy for Sjo. I always liked the guy. He is definitely not a top line guy, but he is a hard worker and a good role player/4th liner. He is good defensively and good on the PK. I think the problem in Phoenix was he was taken so high in the draft, that everyone expected him to be amazing and reach his full potential. Unfortunately, he never lived up to that potential. I liked him for what he brought to the game though and wish him all the luck in the world.

ESPN’s power rankings have been up for a few days. They are the first (and only) I’ve seen so far. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=3504426
Coyotes are ranked 11th in the Western Conference. “The Coyotes now have the big center they've been lacking in Olli Jokinen, but they still don't have enough scoring and they're going to miss Keith Ballard along the blue line and in the dressing room.”
Ever since Ballard was traded, all I’ve heard is how much he sucked and how much better off we are without him (these would be from fans). Thanks ESPN for pointing out what I have been saying all along. I would rather have Ballard on my blueline than on the opponents. Ballard did regress a little bit form the previous two seasons but this was his first season as a top line shut down pair. You have got to expect he’s not going to be the same player, especially since he’s in a new role. As far as the scoring, if the young guys can step up and produce like expected, we will have no problem scoring. Below us in the rankings are Vancouver, Colorado, St Louis and the Kings. Those teams don’t really surprise me. Although, if the Kings have solved their goalie problem, they may cause some trouble and upsets. Kings will be a team that I will keep a close eye on this year. They started to turn around and were getting better at the end of the last season.

Probably the Best Hockey Game I Have EVER Watched!

Holy shit, what an amazing Game 5! I was literally on the edge of my seat after the third period! The pens were up 2-1 and the wings made it 3-2. I was pretty sure the game was over and the cup was going to make its way to the ice. Watching the clock count down the final minute of the game, I was surprised to see the puck go in with about 25 seconds left. I sat straight up and screamed. Did that actually go in? Did I see that right? It did! Holy shit holy shit the pens had tied the game!

I sat nervously through the first two overtimes. Could the pens really pull this off? Could they force a game 6? I was praying to the hockey gods to send this series back to Pittsburgh. Finally, about half way through the 3rd I saw the puck going in the net. I know it wasn’t actually in slow motion, but I swear I saw it going in in slow motion. It was just amazing. I couldn’t believe the Pens had just pulled off the win. Wow.

This game 5 had the highest TV audience for a game 5 since 2002. Wow, that has got to be good for the sport. Unfortunately there are people like Tiger Woods who say unintelligent things like, “I didn’t know anyone still watched hockey”. To that I say, go to hell Tiger Woods. If I was a golf fan, I’d no longer support you. I hope you get bad. And by the way WHO THE HELL WATCHES GOLF?!?!?!?!?!? That has got to be one of the most boring sports to watch on TV. Do they even get a good TV audience for that?

Rumors:

From Ek - Spezza and the LA Kings is still out there, but don't rule out the Calgary Flames who may make a bold move for Spezza if they fail to land Jokinen.

Why the fuck would Spezza go to LA? If he does, at least I will see him more often but the kings? Jesus.

Not much else, Spector reports the Avs may resign Jose and shop Budaj.

Well, I am going to finish watching game 6. I’m hoping the Pens pull out the win and force game 7. It’s not looking like that’s going to happen. They couldn’t get anything going for a 5 on 3 and Detroit is up 1-0 in the second. C’mon Pens!

Coyotes beat Kings

Despite some really crap calls, the Coyotes were able to win this one.

Joel Perrault gets called for goalie interference when he gets shoved by a king and then the goalie grabs him and wrestles him to the ground? Whatever. After that call, they were all just ridiculous. How can i take a ref serious who calls crap like that? And Carcillo gets an unsportsman like conduct. What did he do? I didnt see him do a thing. Doan was out arguing that one for a long time after the perioded ended. If his team thought he did something, Doan wouldnt have argued that long. I feel Carcillo did a good job controlling himself tonight. Again, it seemed like the Kings and Refs were all over him, taunting him and he held his ground.

Perrault got a very sweet goal. Im still surprised that went in. Vrbata got a goal too. I like the fact that our goals come from all different lines. Its not just one line. And Im really liking the lines Gretz has now. I like Vrbata Reinprecht and Carcillo. It just works. Carcillo crashes the net, Vrbata and Reinprecht have some major skills. And I like Kapi with Weller and Winnik. Kapi provides the skill and being with those two guys he gets a little more room and protection. Hes such a small guy that being with two huge physical guys really helps him. I cant decide if I like Kapi or not. I used to say, Id like him if he had a few more inches/pounds on him because you cant deny his talent. But now with those guys, hes really found his niche.

I thought Ziggy should play over York. I have fallen out of favor with York. I thought he did some good things early on in the season but now it seems he just falls down. a lot. im hoping gretz plays ziggy like every other game or so. i thought he played well against the stars.

Jovo keeps leaving forwards to manage the blue line. at one point last night, hes in the play and theres two forwards on the blue line. wtf? seriosuly jovo, im still not liking you! at least one of the forwards was mueller, and hes been doing a good job out there. but the last two games ive notice jovo leaving the blue line and carcillo has been covering it, not sure if i like that idea.

Ballard and Morris continue to impress, even though they have their moments. (not nearly as many as jovo though). Yandle does better when he relaxes i think. it seems like sometimes he is just trying to hard and thats when he makes mistakes.

I am so over Freddie. I dont even know what he was doing out there last night. hes definatly had better games.

Im guessing Telly starts tomorrow night, since we have back to back games. Bryz could use a rest. And Telly has been solid as our backup.

Coyotes 5, Dallas 2

So after the last crappy home games, the coyotes came out strong and beat the Stars 5 to 2. A well deserved win.

Vrbata got his 100th NHL goal. (and the game winner at that)

Boynton got an empty netter for his 3rd goal of the season.

The stars were going after Carcillo but he just held his ground. He didnt go off, he didnt fight, he just skated away. Even when he got a call for elbowing (i didnt see where that was elbowing) he just skated over to the box and sat down. Lets just hope he keeps this up.

Overall I thought all the guys played well. Shane Doan was back. Also, it was disclosed that he was playing with a broken hand for the month of January. The month that he was also the leading scorer in the NHL. Wow. Thats pretty amazing.

One of the other blogs I read posted this article on Ryan Suter: http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php?left_nav=0802&article=suter0802&right_nav=normal

It was a good article. Suter seems like a very down to earth, nice guy. That seems to be the norm among hockey players. Im not going to lie, I wouldnt mind trading Jovocough for Suter.

Tonight we play LA Kings. So far we are 4-0 in the series with them. But we shouldnt take that for granted, they have had a recent surge. They beat Detroit not too long ago.

Ok, well I am going to tnoghts game and also recording it. They are doing a behind the scenes type thing that I think will be interesting to see.