Blues vs Coyotes/1999 Western Conference Quarters

[Jim MacDonald]

Hey everyone

I revisited watching the game 7 overtime of this series, remember watching it live etc. I wondered what hockey homey and homette feedback on this series is, as I didn't follow/watch the first six games. Here's some stuff I learned:

1. Jim Schoenfeld "guaranteed" a victory in game 7.

2. Roenick came back from his jaw not even healed to play in game 7.

3. Coyotes were up 3-1 in the series, what turned the tide?

4. The announcers mentioned the Coyotes had a very short bench this game as Greg Adams got hurt and one other guy that I couldn't remember.

5. Blues dominated that entire extra session until they won it.

I welcome everyone's thoughts/opinions on this series, and will be more curious to see if there isn't much feedback. I've heard people say this series kinda "flies under the radar" in history and is maybe "underappreciated." Look forward to hearing from you!-Jim

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[streitz]

2 Teams I always thought were big chokers. The blues had good D but 2 lemons as centers despite both of them being extremely talented.


Coyotes win easy if Reonick(who was always good in the playoffs) played the first 2 games. Then they would of been eaten in round 2.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

2 Teams I always thought were big chokers. The blues had good D but 2 lemons as centers despite both of them being extremely talented.


Coyotes win easy if Reonick(who was always good in the playoffs) played the first 2 games. Then they would of been eaten in round 2.

The lemons being Tkachuk and Weight?

 

[Michael Farkas]

Tkachuk didn't play center...one of the alleged lemons is Turgeon though, I reckon...

 

[streitz]

The lemons being Tkachuk and Weight?

Tkachuk was a bigger lemon then Turgeon but during the 99 series he was playing for the coyotes still.



The lemons wereTurgeon and Demitra. Both good players and both got eaten by Sakic/Foresberg, Modanom/Nieuendyk(spelling?), and Yzerman,Feds.

 

[tony d]

I remember that series, that season as well Phoenix got off to a hot start but they ended up slowing down by December.

 

[Sadekuuro]

Tkachuk didn't play center...

Tell that to Don Waddell

 

[Bluesguru]

This was the last series to have a Game 7 decided in Overtime with a game ending score of 1-0 and only the 3rd time in history. First time in 1950 with Detroit and Toronto, and the 2nd time being in 1996 with Detroit and St. Louis.

 

[goeb]

Coyotes had some good teams from 1997-1999 but for whatever reason couldn't put teams away in the first round.

1997: A goal away from eliminating the Ducks before Kariya's laser shot in game 6 OT.....get shutout in game 7

1998: Take a 2-1 series lead over the eventual Stanley Cup champs. Numminen injured and eventually the disparity in goal scoring depth becomes evident as the series goes along.

1999: Blow a 3-1 series lead with home ice advantage. I recall they lost game 5 in OT, Game 6 was close, and Game 7 they couldn't even pot in a goal.

 

[ShelbyZ]

1998: Take a 2-1 series lead over the eventual Stanley Cup champs. Numminen injured and eventually the disparity in goal scoring depth becomes evident as the series goes along.

No question about the goalscoring depth, but IIRC, it was the Khabibulin injury that really did them in for 98. Just as Osgood and Khabibulin started to settle down after they both combined for 10GA each in games 1 and 2, Khabibulin went down during game 4. He missed the rest of the series and Jimmy Waite couldn't hold the fort (or his 2nd shot at being a full time NHLer...).

They also had a chance to even it up at home in game 6. However, they couldn't convert during a minute and a half 5 on 3 (with Lidstrom in the box) while they were up 1-0. Between the end of that 5 on 3 and the end of the 2nd period, the Coyotes had a steady stream of guys going to the box. In that just under 30 minutes of play, the Red Wings PP (which had been something like 0 for 16 in games 3-5) finally clicked and went 4 for 7. The 4th of which, IIRC, was a flukey bounce off the end boards that then hit an unsuspecting Waite and went in the net.

 

[goeb]

No question about the goalscoring depth, but IIRC, it was the Khabibulin injury that really did them in for 98. Just as Osgood and Khabibulin started to settle down after they both combined for 10GA each in games 1 and 2, Khabibulin went down during game 4. He missed the rest of the series and Jimmy Waite couldn't hold the fort (or his 2nd shot at being a full time NHLer...).

They also had a chance to even it up at home in game 6. However, they couldn't convert during a minute and a half 5 on 3 (with Lidstrom in the box) while they were up 1-0. Between the end of that 5 on 3 and the end of the 2nd period, the Coyotes had a steady stream of guys going to the box. In that just under 30 minutes of play, the Red Wings PP (which had been something like 0 for 16 in games 3-5) finally clicked and went 4 for 7. The 4th of which, IIRC, was a flukey bounce off the end boards that then hit an unsuspecting Waite and went in the net.

Good point on Khabibulin. I wasn't sure if he was much of a difference maker that post-season due to his weak regular season in goal. Osgood definitely outplayed Waite though after that brutal game 3 when Roenick scored the winner from behind the blue line...not even close to the worst goal Osgood let in that playoffs though .

 

[Jim MacDonald]

How did Khabibulin get hurt anyhow? I followed at the time but didn't remember what happened? A groin pull?

 

[ShelbyZ]

How did Khabibulin get hurt anyhow? I followed at the time but didn't remember what happened? A groin pull?

Found an old recap on Game 4 that said it was a groin injury.

Looking back, injuries for Detroit (which shortened their bench) were also a factor that likely helped the Coyotes get an early advantage in that series. The Red Wings entered the series with Shanahan, Draper, Brown and Gilchrist out, and Lapointe missed game 3. Bowman dressed 11 forward (only 3 centers) and 7 dmen for games 1 and 2. I think rookie Knuble and 22YO Dandenault combined for like 5 minutes of ice time in game 3, but they got Shanahan and Gilchrist back for that game. Then Detroit was left with only Brown injured and pretty much full strength when Draper and Lapointe returned in game 4. That happened right as the Yotes were seeing the opposite...

After losing something like almost 500 man games to injuries in the regular season (a decent chunk from Darcy Wakaluk missing the entire season from an eventual career ending knee surgery and Jim Johnson going down with an eventual career ending concussion in November), the Coyotes entered that series pretty healthy (with Mike Gartner as a healthy scratch). They then lost Numminen in the 1st period of game 1. Then as the Red Wings got healthy, Craig Janney was limited by a knee injury suffered during the regular season, Bob Corkum played games 3-6 with a broken bone in his ankle, they lost Khabibulin for the series halfway through game 4, lost Dallas Drake for the series after game 4, and Darrin Shannon missed game 5 and played banged up for game 6.

That said, the Coyotes were up for a tough task regardless. Sergei Fedorov had a huge incentive to play out of his mind that year. His offersheet from the Canes included a $12M bonus for making the conference finals (where the Wings had played in 3 straight years). It was likely intended to be a way to sway the Red Wings away from matching since Carolina was unlikely to even make the playoffs. It didn't help that as Fedorov started to heat up in that series, Tocchet and co. decided to give him more opportunities by gooning it up.

 

[streitz]

Always loved seeing Tkachuk lose.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

3. Coyotes were up 3-1 in the series, what turned the tide?

The presence of Keith Tkachuk?

I count four series where his team was up 3-1 (1992 vs Vancouver, 1999 vs. St. Louis, 2002 vs Chicago, and 2003 vs Vancouver), and, shockingly, his team lost three of them.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

The presence of Keith Tkachuk?

I count four series where his team was up 3-1 (1992 vs Vancouver, 1999 vs. St. Louis, 2002 vs Chicago, and 2003 vs Vancouver), and, shockingly, his team lost three of them.

I absolutely LOVE this type of coincidental/interesting statistic! Good stuff outsider! Man....not so good if your Tkachuk though!

 

[Hockey Outsider]

To add to this - I did a calculation and if my math is right, the probability of a team losing three out of four series, after going up 3-1, is about 1 in 1,100.

There's about a 77% chance of a team winning all four of those series, a 21% chance of a team winning three, and a 2% of a team winning two. Yes, there's a bunch of simplifying assumptions, but it really shows how improbable Tkachuk's "accomplishment" is.

Of course it's a team game and Tkachuk shouldn't take all of the blame. But he didn't play well in those series after his team took a 3-1 lead - by my quick count, 3 goals and 3 assists in 10 games.

 

[Big Phil]

Hey everyone

I revisited watching the game 7 overtime of this series, remember watching it live etc. I wondered what hockey homey and homette feedback on this series is, as I didn't follow/watch the first six games. Here's some stuff I learned:

1. Jim Schoenfeld "guaranteed" a victory in game 7.

2. Roenick came back from his jaw not even healed to play in game 7.

3. Coyotes were up 3-1 in the series, what turned the tide?

4. The announcers mentioned the Coyotes had a very short bench this game as Greg Adams got hurt and one other guy that I couldn't remember.

5. Blues dominated that entire extra session until they won it.

I welcome everyone's thoughts/opinions on this series, and will be more curious to see if there isn't much feedback. I've heard people say this series kinda "flies under the radar" in history and is maybe "underappreciated." Look forward to hearing from you!-Jim

Scott Young scored a beauty goal in overtime in Game 5. One of those goals where a winger is streaking down the wing and he just snipes a shot on the rush. It was lovely, and he had a great year with Turgeon setting him up.

This was the era when the Coyotes never got out of the 1st round, heck, they still don't but they probably should have a time or two around here. It was Keith Tkachuk that I would lay the most blame on for this. He seemed to be tailor made for the postseason with his style but it never translated.