Arizona Coyotes Recent Play Doesn’t Look Like a Team in a Rebuild

Wait a minute… the Arizona Coyotes are supposed to be in a rebuild, right? I thought maybe I was mistaken. No… the Coyotes recent play is showing the NHL that they are certainly a tough team to play against. They have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and that is third best in the entire Western Conference.

Arizona Coyotes Recent Play Has Been Noticed

When a team that isn’t viewed as a very good team beats the defending Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and then Toronto Maple Leafs people notice. Not only were the victories surprising to some, the fact that they won both games by a 6-3 score shows they are playing competitive hockey. Head coach Andre Tourigny has the boys playing with purpose and motivation. One thing he has done recently is to go with 11 forwards and seven defensmen. He aspires to allowing his defense to get a breather now and then. On the forward line, he can reward a forward playing well with extra ice time since he is one short to build four forward lines. And, guess what? It’s working.

And, they are doing it with tough defense and depth scoring. Some players like Barrett Hayton are finally getting their names on the scoresheets. He had one goal and two assists in the Maple Leafs game. Nick Bjugstad had a goal and two assists in the two recent wins. Jakob Chychrun had one goal and three assists to increase his trade market value immensely. Jack McBain had two vital goals against the Leafs. Things are just clicking right now.

Could the Playoffs be Within Reach?

Never say never in the NHL. They are currently just nine points out of a wild-card spot. They have a 7-3-2 home record while compiling a 6-13-2 road record even after that exhausting 14-game road trip. Speaking of road trips, they are off on another with two stops in Florida… Tampa Bay and Sunrise. Then onto Philadelphia and Chicago. It will certainly be intriguing to see what they can do on this trip. The only team playing well in that group is the Tampa Bay Lightning. If they came away with three wins, they will be in a good spot to move up in the standings.

The Yotes are playing really well in Mullett Arena. They have won two-thirds of the possible points in the 12 home games thus far. If they can continue at that pace, they will acquire another 38 points through the remainder of the season. So, winning on the road will become imperative to get to the postseason. Still, the team would need to exceed 92 points bare minimum to start talking about playoffs.

Of course, keep in mind that general manager Bill Armstrong will surely be making some changes as the trade deadline approaches. Gone could be Jakob Chychrun and Shayne Gostisbehere. That could really decimate the blueline where J.J. Moser has been playing exceptionally well. It will be difficult for Armstrong to decide which players he wants to keep for the future and which ones he can trade. Rebuilds aren’t easy.

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The Mullet Arena Experience

Now that other NHL teams have had a chance to play at the Mullett arena, some good comments have accumulated. The one comment players have made is how excellent the ice quality is. Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres classified the ice as “fast.” Matthew Tkachuk called it as good as it gets in the NHL. Ryan Reaves said it was “unreal.” One thing is certain, for whatever reason, the Coyotes are playing great hockey there. All the negative comments have been stated, and now if the players and the league are raving about the arena, it can’t be all bad.

If only the new Tempe arena were getting done earlier. With a referendum vote on May 16th, the dream of a new hockey facility could become a reality. Wait until other NHL players get a load of that arena… they will love it!