The winning ways for the Arizona Coyotes couldn’t follow them to Mullett Arena on Tuesday. Despite winning games at the beginning of the month for the first time since January, they couldn’t stop the Chicago Blackhawks and their lethal power play from snapping their 22-road game losing streak. Even a rare win in the shot category couldn’t help the Coyotes. Here are some takeaways from the 5-2 loss on Tuesday evening.
Penalties Caught Up With the Coyotes
The reason why the Coyotes lost against the Blackhawks is undisputedly the Coyotes’ amount of careless penalties and how their penalty kill did. Four of the five of the Blackhawks’ goals came on the power play. While there’s no coincidence there and the penalty kill should be blamed, the penalties that put the Coyotes in that position weren’t smart.
“We weren’t good enough,” Nick Bjugstad said. “I think we’ve spent a lot of time in the box this year. It costs us. In situations like that, we have to find ways to kill it. I’m guilty. We’re all guilty in this room of taking penalties. It’s just a tough one when you’re in the box, and I thought in the third period, we didn’t put up much of a fight as far as pushback, and it’s just not an unacceptable effort.”
The third period, as Bjugstad alluded to, wasn’t a great one for the Coyotes as even with Connor Ingram pulled, the team didn’t put up any high-danger chances against Arvid Soderblom. However, it starts with how they began the game and it wasn’t very good. Taking delay of game and goaltender interference penalties when you’re fighting for the lead isn’t a smart way to play.
It’s especially unfortunate considering the Coyotes dominated during five-on-five. The team came out and unloaded barrages of shots on Soderblom to begin the game. However, with one simple penalty, they crumbled and couldn’t catch up with the Blackhawks.
“It’s sort of before it’s kind of an emotional roller coaster,” Michael Carcone said. “We’re disappointed in the way we’re playing. We’re putting it together for a game or two at a time and then maybe you get a result. It’s frustrating. When we play five and five, we’re good. We’ve taken too many penalties at the end of the day and it’s killing us.”
This isn’t the first game where dumb penalties have downed the Coyotes. It’s been a common trait all season. It’s an issue that hasn’t gone away and needs to be addressed if they want to win games consistently.
Trade Deadline Looms Large
Before the game started, it was announced that Jason Zucker would be held out of the game due to trade-related reasons. Jeff Marek later reported that there were a handful of teams interested in the veteran forward like the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, and others.
Zucker was brought in as a free agent on a one-year deal this past summer by general manager Bill Armstrong. It was widely speculated when the contract was signed that if the team was outside the playoff picture by the trade deadline, Zucker and Matt Dumba, who was also signed to a similar contract, would be traded. The February slump helped the Coyotes freefall to the bottom of the league and pretty much sealed Zucker and Dumba’s fate with the team.
Zucker has scored 25 points in 51 games with the Coyotes. While his offense hasn’t been there like in prior seasons, his leadership and locker room presence was a massive addition to the young team. The same can be said for Dumba who has scored nine points with his new team. While it’s only a matter of time until he gets held out of the lineup as well, it seems like Zucker will be the first one out the door in Arizona.
The return for Zucker could be similar to what the Washington Capitals got for Anthony Mantha when he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier on Tuesday. It could be argued that Zucker is worth less than Mantha but a package of two picks will most likely be the outcome in a trade.
Dumba will most likely see a lesser return than Zucker. He could go for around a third or a fourth-round pick considering that he hasn’t played incredibly this season. With how the Coyotes are trending, Zucker and Dumba could be the only parts moved by this trade deadline. However, it’s still a mystery what exactly Armstrong will do.
Is the Losing Andre Tourigny’s Fault?
No, Andre Tourigny isn’t on the hot seat. No, he is not the main culprit behind the constant losing. However, it’s hard to shy away from the fact that the penalty that started the Blackhawks’ ruthless power play was a bench minor.
The too many men on the ice penalty in the first period gave the Blackhawks the lead. It’s a penalty we’ve been seeing a lot lately in Coyotes games. It’s a careless mistake on the coach’s end. Recently, Tourigny has been putting some of the blame on himself and the other coaches, which is something he hasn’t done a lot before.
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“Stupidity,” Tourigny said. “That’s what it is. I think it’s something we did address and obviously, we’ll have to have accountability. I think it’s on us as coaches to make sure that doesn’t happen again. I think there was one last game. It’s on all of the coaches that we have miscommunication on the bench. Too many of the penalties are on us for not paying attention to what’s going on.”
With the loss, the Coyotes haven’t won a game at Mullett Arena since late January against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It brings a disappointing vibe to the locker room. Disappointment was a word that Bjugstad mentioned a lot when he spoke to the media after the game on Tuesday, especially considering this game comes on the heels of the long 14-game losing streak the Coyotes went on in February.
“We had a tough stretch,” Bjugstad said. “It was a pretty long losing streak for us. I think we tried to stay in positive spirits. You get a couple of wins and you feel good. It doesn’t matter what team you’re playing. It’s going to be a tough game. As far as the mood I think we all are a little bit disappointed in ourselves. And I can just speak for myself, we’re disappointed.”
The Coyotes will continue their homestand on Thursday when they welcome their division foes: the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are currently 29-27-6 and are sixth in the Central Division.