Coyotes need more contributions, better poise with leads
Oct 19, 2017, 11:40 PM | Updated: Oct 20, 2017, 11:50 am
Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin, second from left, celebrates his goal with Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14), right wing Alexander Radulov (47) and defenseman John Klingberg (3) as Arizona Coyotes center Derek Stepan (21) pauses on the ice during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. The Stars won 5-4. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The biggest current concern for the Arizona Coyotes is obvious. The team is off to the worst seven-game start (0-6-1) in franchise history after a 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday at Gila River Arena.
Tucked within that headline-grabbing stat are two more issues. The Coyotes can’t stand prosperity, and not enough guys are producing that short-lived prosperity.
When Dallas forward Tyler Seguin scored at 8:20 of the third period on Thursday to give the Stars a 4-3 lead, it marked the eighth time this season the Coyotes have allowed a response goal from their opponent within two minutes of scoring themselves.
It happened twice in a 5-4 loss to Anaheim on Oct. 5. It happened once in a 4-2 loss to Detroit on Oct. 12. It happened twice in a 6-2 loss to Boston on Oct. 14, and it happened three times against the Stars on Thursday.
“I don’t know why it keeps happening,” defenseman Oliver Ekman- Larsson said. “We score a goal and two shifts after, they score another one. That’s something we’ve got to work on and be able to hang in there for a couple shifts and a couple minutes until it settles down a little bit.”
Opponents often put their best line on the ice after allowing a goal and the Coyotes haven’t been able to keep the play out of their own end and withstand the pressure.
“When teams put pressure on, you’ve got [to have] your heart rate down and you’ve got to make that play,” coach Rick Tocchet said.
While the Coyotes try to sort out that maddening habit before they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, they’ll also have to find somebody to produce offense aside from their top line.
Derek Stepan scored twice against the Stars, Clayton Keller added a pair of goals to take over the rookie goal-scoring lead at five, and Max Domi had an assist to give the top line seven points on Thursday and 19 points this season.
The rest of the Coyotes forwards produced one point on Thursday (a Christian Dvorak assist), and they have 12 points this season.
“You want secondary scoring,” Tocchet said. “It doesn’t come easy for some guys. That’s why they’ve got to keep working hard.”
The continued development of Dylan Strome in Tucson hasn’t helped the cause. Nor has an upper-body injury to goal-scoring wing Brendan Perlini, who should return to the lineup soon, but Arizona has four defensemen among its top-10 point producers. Only Tobias Rieder and Anthony Duclair have reached the three-point plateau among the bottom nine forwards.
“If you’re a 20-year-old, you keep working on your shot, you keep working on puck protection, you work on your skill,” Tocchet said. “That’s what this whole process is about.”
The performance of the top line has been encouraging. So was the play of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who had an assist, played with the puck and drove the offense. The Coyotes need a few more contributions to break through for that elusive first win.
“If we put efforts like this together, we’re going to start getting results to come our way,” Stepan said. “I promise.”
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