Coyotes unfazed by the underdog role
Apr 11, 2012, 7:30 PM | Updated: 8:41 pm
The 2012 Coyotes were not expected to be a playoff team.
Yet, here they are making their third straight postseason
appearance.
Of course now that they’re in, no one expects the Coyotes
to make much noise.
“We were laughing because someone said we were the longest
odds-on-favorite to win the Stanley Cup out of the playoff
teams,” said captain Shane Doan.
“We actually found it funny. That’s fine. It is what it
is. Those are the same people that picked us to finish
14th or whatever in the West.”
Oddsmakers tab the Coyotes as a 40/1 shot to win it all.
The Eastern Conference Ottawa Senators are also listed at
40/1.
“Good thing for me I don’t read too much of the press
clippings and stuff like that– no offense to you guys,”
said defenseman Keith Yandle.
“I think we’ve just got to worry about we got to do. We
know we’ve got a great team in here. It starts from the
back end out with [goalie Mike] Smith and I think we’ll be
fine.”
The oddity of the final odds listed is that two teams —
San Jose (18/1) and Los Angeles (20/1) — are believed to
have better chances of winning despite finishing second
and third, respectively, behind the Coyotes in the Pacific
Division.
“We won our division and we’re awfully excited about
that,” said Doan. “The fact that we have home ice
advantage is a big thing and we’re going to try and take
advantage of it.”
