Condensed schedule will test Coyotes until New Year’s Eve
Nov 30, 2016, 6:00 PM | Updated: Dec 1, 2016, 1:46 pm
Arizona Coyotes' Shane Doan (19) talks to teammate Tobias Rieder during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Coyotes have endured more than their share of injuries, losses and tough travel to start the season, but there is one area in which they have been fortunate. They are tied for the fewest number of games played in the league at 21.
That is in the midst of changing.
Starting with a Nov. 23 home game against the Vancouver Canucks at Gila River Arena, Arizona will play every other day, or back-to-back days for a stretch of 39 days — a total of 20 games — until New Year’s Eve, except for a three-day Christmas break. The World Cup of Hockey delayed the start of the NHL season, necessitating a condensed schedule for all NHL teams. The Coyotes are starting to feel the squeeze.
Practice time will be scarce, including Wednesday when coach Dave Tippett gave the team a day off after a late game in San Jose on Tuesday. With so little on-ice instruction time available, Tippett knows he’ll have to be creative to keep his troops fresh, focused and fine-tuned.
“You have to manage your schedule,” Tippett said. “It’s rest vs. practice vs. still teaching.
“There are times when rest is going to be a better factor but you still don’t stop preparing even though you use rest to allow you to play better in games. With our group, we still do lots of video because we’ve got a young group that’s still learning a lot of situations. You don’t stop teaching. You don’t stop finding solutions in a game. Sometimes it’s just not through practice.”
Tippett said video sessions sometimes include the entire team, or smaller groups such as positions and special teams. Lately, he said the coaches have been doing far more do one-on-one analysis because there are so many young players on the roster. Players also have iPads to examine their shifts on their own.
Injuries can add to a coach’s challenge when there are so many games in so few days. Tippett said it’s fair to expect that injuries will increase when players are “in the battle more,” thereby testing a team’s roster.
“The injuries become a concern but they are going to happen from time to time,” he said. “That means your depth becomes a concern, too.”
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday and the Arizona Republic reported that Ekman-Larsson had his left hand wrapped after the game. Tippett doesn’t believe the injury is long-term. He is calling Ekman-Larsson day-to-day and said the defenseman was due to see the team’s medical staff on Wednesday afternoon.
If Ekman-Larsson missed time during a less challenging portion of the schedule, it might mean just one or two games, but the Coyotes play four games in the next six days so even minor injuries can be magnified in a condensed schedule.
“You always have to take care of your body in this game but when you face a tough schedule it becomes even more important,” captain Shane Doan said recently. “Rest, what you eat, therapy with the trainers; it’s all important.”
LOOSE PUCKS
— Tippett said goalie Louis Domingue (lower body) is eligible to come off IR on Thursday. Domingue has practiced a couple times so Tippett said there is a good chance that could happen. If he does, he would back up Mike Smith against the Kings and Justin Peters would be re-assigned to Tucson of the AHL.
— Coyotes prospects Dylan Strome and Nick Merkley were two of the 32 players invited to Canada’s national junior team selection camp Dec. 10-14 in Quebec. The camp determines the roster for the World Junior Championship, which begins Dec. 26 in Montreal and Toronto.
Kings at Coyotes
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Records: Coyotes 8-10-3. Kings 12-9-1.
Injury report: Coyotes — C Brad Richardson (broken right tibia and fibula) is out indefinitely. D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (upper body) is day to day. G Louis Domingue (lower body) is on IR but eligible to come off Thursday. Kings — G Jonathan Quick (groin) and D Brayden McNabb (collarbone) are out. C Andy Andreoff (thumb) could return, which would necessitate a corresponding roster move.
Scouting the Kings: The Kings hosted San Jose on Wednesday with first place in the Pacific Division on the line. … C Jeff Carter led L.A. with 10 goals and 19 points. … G Peter Budaj had a 2.04 goals against average and a .917 save percentage in 20 games. … The Kings continue to be one of the NHL’s top shot differential teams with a 53.66 Corsi For percentage. … F Dustin Brown played his 200th consecutive game Wednesday.
