GDT: Game 7: Stars @ Coyotes | 7:00 p.m. PDT | FS-A | 620 AM

[Jakey53]

Great game overall, just a lot of self inflicted wounds.

That has been the story all year.

 

[Jakey53]

\
Why the heck not? _del_ does.

Now, that is funny.

 

[cobra427]

Unfortunately, Keller is having a few mental meltdowns himself on the D side of his game which is resulting in goals.

I saw one of those last night, careful, he's the golden boy now Game of mistakes and we are making them in spades. I am not sure why, if guys are off their game, if it isn't drilled into them, or the focus is elsewhere. I suspect Tocc will have to hold guys accountable now more than ever. Without watching game film, I would bet we made twice as many major mistakes as Dallas and thats why we lost. We cut back on mistakes and we win that game going away.

 

[LoneStarHockey]

Good series guys, I will be rooting for you next game. You definitely deserve more than 1 point on the season, the wins will come.

I really enjoyed watching Keller play.

Good Luck the rest of the season, we will see you again in February.

 

[Jakey53]

This game was winnable if only we had either less turnovers or better goaltending. Hill let in a couple of shots a better goalie would have saved. As to the turnovers, it's been covered page after page. If Raanta is all that and a bag of chips, he will be able to save the team from the sloppy play in front of him. If not, then we are royally screwed.

That's the name of the game. We need your goalie to steal a game when your team is in a funk. We have not had that all year. Turnovers will kill you.

Some positives from this game for sure. But in the NHL, it still comes down to goal tending and mistakes. For all the fancy plays and rushes, mistakes and soft goals kill you. The team has to focus on not making mistakes. Make the simple play, cover your man. We still look like a train wreck from a fundamental perspective. Dallas is bad too, just not as bad. We were better and didn't get owned possession wise this game so that is good.

Bingo. Our goal tending has been not very good. Sure they look good at times, but it is those one or two softies every game that is killing our momentum.

The boys keep striding forward. I won't say it's necessarily impressive (over all), but it's progress and the progress is obvious.

I agree.

Letting Vrbata go was flat out foolish. The lure of a ready Strome may have led to letting Burmistrov go, but likely not much less foolish.

I agree about Vrbata, not so much Burmistrov. Right now these two would look good on the Yotes, but by years end you might change your mind about Burmistrov.

 

[rt]

Schenn can't play at the pace expected or make clean passes. Clendening should be in. KConn doesn't want to move his feet and be a part of the play, Chychrun needs to come back. There isn't a single functional pairing right now and that's crazy.

100% this.

 

[tuxonpups]

Keller looked great on that breakaway goal, not so great setting up the Dallas goal with a beauty pass to our own slot.

Dvorak looked great setting up Keller for the late goal, no so great with the same pass to Dallas for theirs.

Hill looked great sliding in his butterfly to gobble up point blank chances, not so great making a pass to Dallas for a secondary assist on Schenn's goal against his own team.

Our top line was too much for them to handle, which is a weird thing to say as a Coyotes fan.

Sure, one of the the other 3 lines scoring would be nice but we ran a shut down line of Martinook-Dvorak-Rieder, a checking line of Crouse-Cousins-Fischer and an AHL line of Rinaldo-Kempe-Duclair, so after the 1st line we're running the old blind squirrel offense.

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

Was at the game and it was fun... except the losing part. Man, someone DID drink Jobu's rum.

At this point it really is getting to comical levels how this team has just a hard time having success. It's like they are allergic to good things happening to them. I've never seen so many goals scored RIGHT after we have scored. It's just so improbable it's crazy!

Good news is that I still think they played pretty decent. Like others have said... if they had a good goalie, that's a win. A goalie that can save them from some of those easy goals. That's the problem, really. It's that this team absolutely gifts out goals that are unearned. Those kind of goals are killing us. If the Yotes can find a way to just stop or limit it somehow, they will have plenty of wins. Btw, not blaming Hill for the loss, he did ok. He wasn't excellent but he wasn't horrible (from what I saw in the seats)... I don't think he should leave his net too much though, or over-commit to shots. That's where he seems to get into trouble.

I had my hat ready to be thrown on the ice, too. Had TWO players that could have claimed it by the end. I've never been to a game where our team got a hat trick... just need it to happen guys, ha.

Anyways, I would love if this team got their first W against the Hawks. I need it to happen in the worst way. Come on Yotes!

 

[MIGs Dog]

 

[SR]

Overall a decent game. To me, the best game I’ve seen them put together. Domi - Stepan - Keller is a legit first line, something we’ve never had, good to see.

Why Duclair is paired with Kempe and Rinaldo is beyond me. Once this team is healthy I think things will seriously start clicking. OEL looked like he was starting to turn that corner, especially with the puck.

Adin Hill has been a pleasant surprise, so much more fluid than Domingue. The break outs were pretty clean last night. You can see what Tochett is trying to do, if it’s done right you can see that speed coming out of the D zone. All in all I’m ok with this loss because of the progression seen last night.

Hopefully Raanta and Perlini are close.

Domi - Stepan - Keller
Perlini - Dvorak - Duclair
Reider - Richardson - Crouse
Martinook - Cousins - Rinaldo
Kempe

OEL - Chycrun
Goligoski - Hjalmarsson
Schenn - Clendenning

Raanta
Hill

Believe it or not I think Rinaldo has a spot in this tram. I’ve always been a proponent to having someone of his ilk on a team, keeps the other team honest. He comes out bangin, too.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Until the Coyotes learn how to maintain puck possession in their own end other teams will continue to aggressively forecheck without concern for breakaways. We turtle under pressure when we gain control of the puck deep in our own end.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Until the Coyotes learn how to maintain puck possession in their own end other teams will continue to aggressively forecheck without concern for breakaways. We turtle under pressure when we gain control of the puck deep in our own end.

Right. Seemed to be a lot of passes to know one in particular as well.

 

[BUX7PHX]

Well now that this game is less stupid it's time for more srs business analysis.

The Coyotes have managed to create quite a few near breakaways and rushes but they really need to get a little more than one and done out of it. The stretch passes are so far that the rest of the team can't catch up for support to create sustained pressure out of it.

I'm all for using the stretch pass more than we have in the past but it seems like that the initial chances aren't being converted on nearly enough for the strategy to be effective as is. Perhaps it's a line combo issue, obviously there are some square peg/round hole situations both due to talent overall and perhaps some decisions by the staff. Dvorak, Domi, Fischer, Crouse, Martinook, Cousins, and to a lesser extent Rieder need to match some of their more purely offensive linemates moves up ice if the strategy as-is can work. Maybe it will just take time for some brain re-wiring. And getting Perlini back will help.

As sort of a diamond in the serious rough, I have been pleasantly surprised at how they are handling board play and cycles when they get the opportunity. I've been long worried they don't have the personnel for it but they seem to show more potential there than I would have thought.

Wasn't able to catch the game last night, but how did they look on boards and cycling puck last night? I think I said basically the exact same thing after last game - we are full go on the initial rush into the zone and that looks to be where we are making a concerted effort to get a goal/scoring opportunity from. The problem is that if we don't get that good scoring opportunity, we start to flounder a little and don't appear to have a sustained attack.

Up until yesterday's game, I hadn't seen a real cohesive plan for the offense in our offensive zone after the rush, so was this the first game that the team looked like they were moving more and creating space effectively when inside the opponent's blue line? As I said, seems like we make the opposition defend the rush better than the opposition defends within their third of the ice, because we don't look purposeful in our gameplan once we get into our sets.

 

[Rob Brown]

Will Hill be in tomorrow again? Or is AR supposed to be back?

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

Overall a decent game. To me, the best game I’ve seen them put together. Domi - Stepan - Keller is a legit first line, something we’ve never had, good to see.

Why Duclair is paired with Kempe and Rinaldo is beyond me. Once this team is healthy I think things will seriously start clicking. OEL looked like he was starting to turn that corner, especially with the puck.

Adin Hill has been a pleasant surprise, so much more fluid than Domingue. The break outs were pretty clean last night. You can see what Tochett is trying to do, if it’s done right you can see that speed coming out of the D zone. All in all I’m ok with this loss because of the progression seen last night.

Hopefully Raanta and Perlini are close.

Domi - Stepan - Keller
Perlini - Dvorak - Duclair
Reider - Richardson - Crouse
Martinook - Cousins - Rinaldo
Kempe

OEL - Chycrun
Goligoski - Hjalmarsson
Schenn - Clendenning

Raanta
Hill

Believe it or not I think Rinaldo has a spot in this tram. I’ve always been a proponent to having someone of his ilk on a team, keeps the other team honest. He comes out bangin, too.

Yea I saw that as well. First line was getting it done again and agree that the coach needs to find a different way to use Duke. He creates some moments but just needs some help at the right time from a good line mate who is on the same page. Also thought OEL played well last night. Rinaldo has also been a pleasant surprise for me too. Solid physicality and nothing dumb yet. Let's hope he can keep doing exactly that... I can dig it!

I just got to re watch the highlights from that game. I'm gonna be nice to Demers for a second here... on that first goal against I don't think that's all on him. TWO Yotes (Hammer and Dvo) had the puck on their sticks on the boards and somehow they hit it out front to Benn. Pretty much stole the puck from each other... crazy accident. Still not a great decision by him, but if either of those 2 players don't make the huge mistake then it's no goal.

Again, that's just how things are going for the Yotes right now. Scoring on themselves, having crazy bounces out to a wide open Benn... etc. I don't wanna blame it on bad luck but it really just feels like it. But even if it is, screw luck! This team has to buckle down and just over come it through sheer force of will. I think they got it in them (to be a really good team). This clip pretty much sums it up haha... fitting!

 

[Neighborhood Coyote]

CLAYTON CALDER

I think this is solid gold. Clayton Calder ftw. Dude is just a beast! Love seeing him play... Chayka absolutely owned that draft. Keller and Chychrun? Incredible.

 

[TheLegend]

Will Hill be in tomorrow again? Or is AR supposed to be back?

Tocchet hasn't decided.

 

[rt]

Hill was pretty good I thought for a kid in his 2nd game. Not perfect by any means but for game number two? Pretty good.

 

[rt]

I think this is solid gold. Clayton Calder ftw. Dude is just a beast! Love seeing him play... Chayka absolutely owned that draft. Keller and Chychrun? Incredible.

Makes me feel pretty confident in POJ.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

Glad to see Stephan scoring now.

 

[PhoPhan]

Hill was pretty good I thought for a kid in his 2nd game. Not perfect by any means but for game number two? Pretty good.

He should go back to Tucson when Raanta is healthy, but I've been impressed with him given his age. He definitely has some things to work on (rebound control, puck handling, etc.), but his fundamentals are promising. Who the hell knows with goalies though.

 

[rt]

He should go back to Tucson when Raanta is healthy, but I've been impressed with him given his age. He definitely has some things to work on (rebound control, puck handling, etc.), but his fundamentals are promising. Who the hell knows with goalies though.

I don't want him to go back to Tucson until he proves he's definitely not more effective than Raanta himself. Would you be absolutley shocked if Hill just took the starting job and kept it?

 

[SR]

I don't want him to go back to Tucson until he proves he's definitely not more effective than Raanta himself. Would you be absolutley shocked if Hill just took the starting job and kept it?

Can’t imagine Arizona is going to start Hill over Raanta with the idea of bringing in Raanta as a potential started. Not too mention Raanta is certainly more proven at this level than Hill is.

As for Hill takining over Domingues spot, absolutely.

 

[rt]

They won't give Hill the job but he COULD take it. Raanta might be great or he might be a flop. No way to know yet. I think we've all seen enough of Domingue at this point.

 

[PhoPhan]

I don't want him to go back to Tucson until he proves he's definitely not more effective than Raanta himself. Would you be absolutley shocked if Hill just took the starting job and kept it?

I would be absolutely shocked if Hill took the starting job and kept it. Here is the full list of 21-and-under goalies who started at least 30 games and finished the year with a save percentage of at least .908 since the 1997-98 season (.908 is Domingue's career average, the league average last year was .913, and Raanta's career average is .917):

Three guys in 20 years. Give Hill some time.