Coyotes’ 7th straight loss revives talk of tanking

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Coyotes avoided the Auston Matthews topic for the first five months of the season. It’s going to dominate the final five weeks.

The Anaheim Ducks added more velocity to Arizona’s downward spiral with a 5-1 victory on Thursday at Gila River Arena, stretching the Coyotes’ season-high losing streak to seven games. Following wins by Minnesota and Colorado (including a goal by Mikkel Boedker), the Coyotes are 10 points off the playoff pace and just four points ahead of 29th place in the NHL standings.

The tank talk has begun.

Arizona is 5-15-2 in its last 22 games and its struggles are snowballing much as they did late last season.

“It’s pretty much in the middle of it right now,” a frustrated captain Shane Doan said after the Coyotes took eight penalties and allowed three power-play goals to the Ducks, who matched a franchise record with their 10th straight win. “Whatever we’re doing we have to change it.”

It’s going to be tough with the lineup the Coyotes are fielding. Rookie goalie Niklas Treutle made his first NHL start against the hottest team in the NHL and the results were an unmitigated disaster. Anaheim scored on its first two shots — one because Treutle misplayed a puck — and the rookie netminder stopped just 11 of 16 shots before he was pulled after two periods in favor of weary rookie Louis Domingue.

When asked after the game if he had any regrets about starting Treutle, coach Dave Tippett was direct.

“I had no choice,” he said. “I’ll take the responsibility. We put a young player in a position he’s not ready for. It’s obvious he’s not ready for it but Louis has played 11 straight; looked tired on the road. That’s where we are.

“We have to get Louis a break. That’s too much to ask for a young guy. That being said, throwing the young guy in there tonight was probably too much to ask for him, too.”

The Coyotes also faced the Ducks without defenseman Zbynek Michalek (lower body) and recently acquired veteran Alex Tanguay, who missed the game with a lower-body injury after Tippett thought he was ready to play.

With a lineup that also included newcomers Jiri Sekac, Sergei Plotnikov and Jarred Tinordi, the Coyotes were out of sync from the get-go and Anaheim took advantage, even though it was missing center Ryan Getzlaf.

“It was a rough start,” Treutle said. “Three plays into the game and you’re down 2-0.”

When the Coyotes closed their 0-5 eastern road trip with a 6-0 loss at Pittsburgh on Monday, Tippett talked about trying to assimilate the new players into the lineup. It’s the same sort of talk that dominated last season when players were auditioning for roles.

The optics on this season are dramatically different, given the team’s surprising start and the fact that it was still highly competitive until the last two games. That doesn’t change the fact that the Coyotes lead 29th-place Calgary by just four points.

Arizona wanted to compete for a playoff spot this season. Instead, it appears it will be competing for a native son, Matthews, who will be the prize for the winner of the NHL Draft Lottery.

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