Coyotes cap big day with ‘business-like’ win

Business-like.

It’s not an adjective that has been used historically when
describing the Phoenix Coyotes.

After all, before this postseason, the Coyotes had never
won a playoff series, squandering opportunities in 1997
(up 3-2 on Anaheim, lost 4-3), 1999 (up 3-1 on St. Louis,
lost 4-3) and 2010 (tied 3-3, lost 4-3).

In the first round, they missed an opportunity to close
out the Chicago Blackhawks on their home ice, falling in
overtime and forcing a Game 6 in the Windy City.

But on the same night that the league announced tentative
details to sell the franchise to former San Jose Sharks
CEO Greg Jamison, the Coyotes earned the business-like
description by beating the Nashville Predators 2-1 to win
the series 4-1 and advance to the Western
Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The Coyotes used a familiar formula for success: play
solid defense, kill penalties, make the most of their
scoring chances and, oh yeah, rely on the stellar
goaltending of Mike Smith, who stopped 32 Nashville shots
for his 8th playoff win.

“Coyote ugly,” Smith said after the game. “That’s kind of
been the motto here. We’ve learned a lot about who we
are as a group in here and every guy has contributed at
some during the series and during the playoff stretch.”

Smith may want to deflect a lot of the praise and credit
for the series win, but others know that the ‘Yotes are
riding a really hot goalie right now.

“They worked hard and their goalie was unreal,” Nashville
goalie Pekka Rinne said. “He was the difference in this
series, I thought.”

Rinne, a Vezina Trophy finalist, outplayed Smith in Game
3, when he stopped 32 shots in a 2-0 shutout. But other
than that, it was Smith who shined brighter than any other
player on the ice.

“In the playoffs, you need great goaltending, it just goes
without saying,” Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said.
“You have great goaltending, you’ve got a chance every
night.”

And for as great as Smith was in the regular season run to
the Pacific Division title, he’s been even better in the
postseason. The 30-year-old veteran has a sterling .948
save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.77 since
the chase for Lord Stanley’s Cup started.

Add on a penalty killing unit that has squelched 89.4% (34
of 38) of opponents’ power plays during the playoffs, and
the Coyotes are quite simply a very hard team to score on.

But with the excitement of another playoff series win
coupled with the optimism of the sale announcement, this
team has managed to keep a sharp focus on
the task at hand.

“We’re excited for this win, it means a lot to our group,”
captain Shane Doan said. “But it’s only halfway.”

The Coyotes will face the Los Angeles Kings in the Western
Conference Finals.

Follow @Vincemarotta