It was another rough night at Mullett Arena for the Arizona Coyotes fanbase. Another division opponent rolled through handing the Coyotes another loss. On trade deadline eve, the Minnesota Wild got another win in Tempe, sending the home team on a losing skid in the arena which was once dubbed one of the toughest environments to play in. Here are some takeaways from Thursday night’s loss.
Penalty Kill Remains Awful
Kirill Kaprizov batted in a rebound in the second period to give the Wild their first lead of the game. Why is that so significant? Once again, it was seconds into the penalty kill when that goal was scored. Yet another penalty kill that was a nightmare for the Coyotes.
In the past ten games, the Coyotes have been operating their penalty kill at a 59.4% success rate. That means almost half the time the team is short-handed, they get scored against. It’s an awful stat that has been a cause of a handful of the Coyotes’ most recent losses.
What was once one of the best parts of the team has turned into their kryptonite. Now, the Coyotes find themselves near the bottom of the league in terms of penalty kill. They’re 25th in the whole league in terms of percentage at 76.33%. It’s been an incredible fall from grace.
“I don’t think we played a bad game,” Tourigny said. “I think we played well. We had great chances. Their goalie made really good saves on those great chances. We scored on their power play, they scored on our PK. I think two turnovers in the third cost us the lead.”
The Coyotes did play a good game. In fact, they were even leading in shots after the second period which is a rare look from this team. However, it’s hard to imagine what would’ve happened if their penalty kill stood strong in the second period. The team must fix it quickly before they begin losing more games because of it.
Roadrunner Meet Coyote
It was announced before the start of the game that Matt Dumba would be joining Jason Zucker up in the press box due to trade-related reasons. With Troy Stecher traded to Edmonton earlier in the day, it allowed Patrik Koch to make his NHL debut.
“It’s been a dream since I was a small boy,” Koch said. “So it was an amazing feeling but I feel like we could’ve won that game. I’m not very happy about that right now.”
Koch is just one of a handful of Tucson Roadrunners that have made their debut as of late. However, he probably will be joined by a couple more teammates as more trades are made. Zucker and Dumba are gone for sure. It won’t be surprising if they’re gone before 1 PM today. However, players like Nick Bjugstad, who was held out of the lineup due to family reasons, and Alex Kerfoot could also be on the move. Both forwards have term left so they most likely won’t be traded but it’s a possibility. Someone like Liam O’Brien, who might not command much but most likely won’t be back next season, could also be flipped.
The Roadrunners are enjoying a successful season, currently occupying the third spot in the Pacific Division in the AHL. Matt Villalta, Justin Kirkland, and Dylan Guenther have all made appearances in the lineup after being recalled with Guenther securing a permanent fixture in the lineup. With more roster spots, players like Josh Doan and Aku Raty, who have been incredible in the AHL this season, might see some stints in the NHL to show off their skill and get an early leap on getting a lineup spot with the Coyotes next season.
It’s hard to imagine these players getting long stints like Guenther though. With the Coyotes now out of the playoffs, all eyes are on the Roadrunners and a possible deep playoff run for them. Koch will probably end up back with the team and players like Maveric Lamoureux and Conor Geekie could end their seasons in juniors and come over to the AHL. On top of that, Guenther could make a return after the Coyotes end their season. More interestingly, Logan Cooley could grow from a playoff run down south.
In order for this to happen, the Coyotes will need to make a paper transaction by the trade deadline to send players down to the Roadrunners to be on their roster. This means they don’t have to actually send these players down to the AHL rather just have them on the roster by the deadline and then call them back up immediately after. The Coyotes can do this to a maximum of four players. Koch is almost certainly going to be one of these players. It would be no surprise if Guenther is another one. However, Cooley could be an interesting option to be a third player in this group. The young forward has had a mediocre rookie season and could benefit from seeing some additional playing time this season, especially in a playoff atmosphere.
If the Coyotes want to see a winning culture up in Tempe, sending their youth down to the playoff-bound Roadrunners would be a smart move. We’ll see what general manager Bill Armstrong does, but it should be an interesting next couple of hours.
Another Long Losing Streak
The Coyotes’ two-game losing streak might not be as awful as the 14-game losing streak they were on earlier this month, but if you take a closer look at the team, they’ve extended a different losing streak with their 5-2 loss to the Wild. The team is now on a seven-game losing streak at home. They haven’t won a game at Mullett Arena since their win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in January.
Related: Careless Penalties Cost Coyotes Against Blackhawks
It’s not a good feeling to lose in front of your home fans. To be winless at home for the past seven is a worse feeling. It also makes the building you’re supposed to be comfortable and excited to play in have a negative vibe around it. There’s no excuse, especially considering how good the team has played in the arena in the past. On Thursday, they lost again even amidst celebrities like the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Frankie Muniz, and a couple of ASU NCAA lacrosse players.
After Friday, the Coyotes go on a road trip for the next two weeks with the exception of one home game against the New Jersey Devils. However, after that road trip, they will play seven straight games at Mullett. The team needs to regroup and find a way to win at home again to give their fans a good final impact as the season nears its end.
The Coyotes will play the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Red Wings are 33-23-6 this season and occupy the first wild-card spot in the East.