Youth carries Coyotes again in second straight win
Jan 23, 2017, 11:14 PM
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The optics on the Coyotes’ 2016-17 youth movement aren’t favorable when you view the NHL standings, but a two-game winning streak and four wins in the last five home games has Arizona hopeful that it is heading in a positive direction as the All-Star break looms.
Third-year forward Tobias Rieder buried a feed from Alex Burmistrov just 48 seconds into overtime, and the Coyotes completed a home sweep of the Florida teams with a 3-2 win over the Panthers on Monday at Gila River Arena.
Arizona recorded a season-high 42 shots and got more contributions from its young players to extend a recent trend.
Rieder scored for the second straight game to give him 10 goals this season. Rookie right winger Christian Fischer scored his second goal in as many NHL games to become the first player in Jets/Coyotes history to score in his first two games, and on his first two NHL shots.
Rookie defenseman Jakob Chychrun recorded a pair of assists to give him four points (two goals) in his last four games, and Burmistrov posted a pair of assists to give him five assists in five games since he was claimed off waivers from Winnipeg on Jan. 2.
“The difference with our young guys is we’re a little over halfway through their first year,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “When young players come in, the first 10 games of their pro career, they’re just getting their feet wet. Now they’ve got their feet wet and they know what to expect, and you’re seeing these kids come along and grow into better players.”
Burmistrov’s sample size is too small to make any judgments, but he’s been a pleasant surprise for Arizona and had added a creative dimension at the center position that this team has missed all season.
“He’s really tried to grasp what we’re trying to do,” Tippett said. “He’s got good skill. He plays with good pace. His faceoffs have been pretty good and that was one of the things we were a little bit concerned with.
“He’s just creating plays that are making a difference in the game.”
When a team inserts young players into its roster, there is always talk of the energy they can bring to a locker room like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair did last season. Right winger Ryan White is seeing just that.
“You’ve got a little bit of want,” said White, who netted his third goal of the season off an effective shot fake that froze defenseman Jakub Kindl and goalie Roberto Luongo. “They’ve been down in the minors and I’ve been down in the minors. You don’t want to be down there. You get your chance up here, you try and grasp it and take it.
“I’ve heard lots of stories of guys coming up. They say they don’t want to go back down and both those kids [Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer] have played that way so far this year.”
This is the Coyotes’ fifth two-game winning streak of the season, but they have not won three games. While a win on Thursday in the final game before the All-Star break would mean just two points and do nothing for the Coyotes’ dead playoff hopes, it is still a game they are pointing to as a way to chart progress.
“It’s real good motivation,” Tippett said. “We need this team to continue to push forward. We need to continue to grow. You’ve got surpass what you’ve done before and that’s an opportunity for us to surpass so we’ll be very motivated for that game.”