They’re injuries are overstated.
Not really. Maybe if they had a big top line like the Avs or Bruins but they don't. It's a team that's supposed to rely on a 4 line attack and balanced scoring.
You take away Schmaltz, Dvorak and Grabner and that completely destroys that supposed strength of theirs. Last game Richardson, Cousins and Garland were playing top 9..
Throw in Raanta and Demers injuries and it just gets worse.
Sure, if they were a strong team to begin with, they could deal with these injuries better. But they're not, so they need at least close to their best possible lineup to compete for the playoffs. And sadly we haven't seen it this season.
It's like, where would the Habs be without Price, Danault, Tatar, Byron and Benn all out at the same time.
It's funny in a way, Coyotes are starting to feel like the Blue Jackets before 16/17.
Jackets were getting better and had a strong finish to the season in 14/15 with a 16-3-1 record in their last 20 games. Then when everyone expected them to push for a playoff spot in 15/16 they had a bad start and Bobrovsky ended up missing more than half a season. That's where people started to write them off again until they broke out in 16/17.
I wouldn't be surprised to see people write the Yotes off after a season like this only to see them catch everyone by surprise next year. There's a lot of similarities between them and Columbus. Pretty good defense, capable goalie, balanced offense without any big stars.
