Coyotes drop sixth straight, go winless on five-game trip

The Coyotes began the day by saying goodbye to an old friend when GM Don Maloney traded right wing Mikkel Boedker to the Colorado Avalanche before Monday's NHL's trade deadline.

BY CRAIG MORGAN

Feb 29, 2016, 8:32 PM

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Members of the Arizona Coyotes look at a replay as hats and souvenir Penguins are thrown on the ice to celebrate the third goal of the NHL hockey game by Pittsburgh Penguins' Patric Hornqvist during the second period in Pittsburgh, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH — The Coyotes began the day by saying goodbye to an old friend when GM Don Maloney traded right wing Mikkel Boedker to the Colorado Avalanche before Monday’s NHL’s trade deadline.

The Coyotes ended the day by all but saying goodbye to their slim playoff hopes.

Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist notched his first career hat trick and Pittsburgh rolled over the listless Coyotes, 6-0, on Monday at Consol Energy Center. The loss was the Coyotes’ season-high sixth straight and ended their road trip at 0-5 — the second 0-5 road trip they have recorded this season. It was also the third time the Coyotes have been shut out this season.

“We didn’t play very well from the goaltender out,” coach Dave Tippett said. “I don’t know how many hits we ended up with (46). Guys are running around trying but that just means you’re late on things and you don’t have the puck. That’s artificial energy. That says to me that your team is either tired or behind in the pace of the game.”

With the loss, the Coyotes remained eight points behind Colorado for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, but Arizona only has one game in hand now. Compounding the problem is that every other playoff team is at least 12 points ahead of Arizona and the Coyotes must also worry about the Minnesota Wild, who only trail Colorado by two points and seem the more logical choice to grab the West’s final playoff spot.

The final reality is that Arizona is 5-14-2 in its last 21 games. The Coyotes do not look like a team capable of making a late-season push.

“We’re in a position now where we’ve got to get the new players assimilated with the team,” Tippett said. “(We’ll) go home and get some rest after a tough trip and play a couple home games and see if we can play a little better.”

Nobody would use it as an excuse, but it wasn’t surprising the team turned in its poorest effort on the day a popular teammate was traded.

“I’m glad this day is over and we get to go home and regroup,” said defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is best friends with Boedker. “It’s something I’ve never experienced before, losing a really good player and good teammate. It felt weird.”

Newest Coyotes Sergei Plotnikov and Jiri Sekac both made their debut for Arizona on Monday, but nobody in a Coyotes jersey had a notable night so there wasn’t much chance for an evaluation.

“It will take a little longer than one game that is not a very good game,” Tippett said.

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