Coyotes Break Losing Streak at Home
Whew!!!
The Coyotes dodged a bullet on Thursday as they played Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
The Coyotes played just their second game at home, and it was a doozy. They came off a tough, 1-3 road trip, winning in Anaheim 4-2 last Sunday only to lose 4-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks last Wednesday as their former goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin, helped defeat them.
The Coyotes then traveled to Ottawa, Friday, where they allowed 4 goals in the first period to quickly learn their demise on their way to a 6-3 loss. The bright side: all three goals were scored in the third period, and they did not allow a power play goal.
They then took a charter bus just a province away where they met another big foe in the Eastern Conference: The Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens were going into the game with a record of 4-0-1. Canadiens’ center Saku Koivu had three points in the game and surpassed the 600 points milestone. Needless to say, it was another game flushed quickly down the drain.
The bright side: it was the last game of the road trip and five days off until their next game in Phoenix, which brings us to Thursday night’s game.
The Coyotes entered the game on Thursday with high hopes for the game. Alexander Ovechkin for the Capitals said, “I am excited to play against the best player in history (Wayne Gretzky) and show him that I can play the game and play it well.” He loves playing the Coyotes for that sole reason.
The first period was null and boring due to no scoring but the shots were 14-13 in favor of the Coyotes and a few hits made it entertaining. There was great goaltending displayed by both Mikhail Tellqvist of the Coyotes, who made his first appearance of the season, and Jose Theodore for the Capitals.
The second period was different. The Coyotes still came out somewhat flat as Tellqvist allowed his first goal of the season. It was scored by Brooks Laich on the power play. This was just the third goal allowed by the Coyotes on the power play this season. The shots were 12-11 in favor of the Coyotes.
In the third period someone paid for the fireworks and the Coyotes set them off. Both teams had 8 SOG (shots on goal), but Jose Theodore did not stop them all. Mikkel Boedker got his third goal of the year at the 2:29 mark. Peter Mueller set off a firework with his goal of the year at the 6:32 mark of the third period. The Coyotes went up 2-1 and it was just a matter of time before they got the win.
This was one of those games where whoever scores first wins the game. With the Capitals scoring first, that philosophy looked real good until the Coyotes scored first…in the third. Everything changed at that point.
As far Ovechkin enjoying himself showing off to “The Great One,” he did not. He had no goals, no assists, was an even zero on the +/- scale and took seven shots. He will have another chance to put up better stats this season.
The Coyotes are now 3-3 with 6 points. Their next opponent is the Calgary Flames in Glendale on Saturday night. This should be another win for the Coyotes. The Flames are 3-3-1. If the Coyotes come out with the same urgency they had in the third period of Thursday’s game, this should be a good game; if not, put a tally in the loss column.
Photos by: Yahoo! Sports
