Coyotes outshine Stars in overtime win
Feb 19, 2012, 4:44 AM | Updated: 4:51 am
Mike Smith’s scoreless streak may have been snapped at 171 minutes in
the Coyotes’ 2-1 overtime win against the Dallas Stars Saturday in
Glendale, AZ — but the Coyotes netminder’s sterling play along with Radim
Vrbata’s career-high 28th goal stole the show.
“I am happy about it,” Vrbata said in regards to tallying his career-high
goal. “But there are still lots of games left; I’m just glad those goals are
helping our team to get points, that’s what we need to get to the playoffs
so if that’s helping our team, I am happy about it.”
Vrbata, who waited until the last possible second to take the shot that
produced the game-winner, has become infamous for his late heroics.
“I was running out of room there and I wanted to make sure I had a lane to
shoot and I was able to put it in,” Vrbata explained.
Vrbata’s penchant for performing in the clutch and Smith’s outstanding
play between the pipes helped the Coyotes overcome fatigue and mental
errors in front of a crowd of 16,604 at Jobing.com Arena on Alice Cooper
BobbleHead night.
“I thought we didn’t look like we had the same energy as the other night in
LA,” head coach Dave Tippett said. “That being said, we hung around the
game. Smitty gave us a chance again.”
Deadlocked in a 1-1 tie after the first period of play, the Coyotes came out
flat to begin the second period and seemed overmatched against Dallas’
aggressive forecheck, while struggling with their own throughout the rest
of the game.
Despite a sloppy second period and a lack of discipline that resulted in
four penalties against the Coyotes, Smith stood tall and kept his team in
the game — proving to be invaluable once again.
“When you have [Smith] back there playing as well as he is it makes
everything easier,” Doan said of his goaltender’s game-saving stops. “You
can’t really put into words how good he is right now; he’s been
phenomenal for a long time. We’ve been fortunate, there’s a reason we’re
on a winning streak.”
The already banged up Coyotes suffered a few more blows to their roster in
the third period when they lost two veteran centermen, Martin Hanzal and
Kyle Chipchura to injuries.
“We’re going to have to reevaluate and the two days off will do us some
good because we’ve got another hard game Tuesday,” Tippett said in
regards to handling the sudden rash of injuries.
Still, the Coyotes and Smith persevered pushing the game into overtime
and giving Vrbata yet another opportunity to shine when it mattered the
most.
“That was a huge goal for us,” Tippett stated. “Vrbata, it seems like every
time he’s got an opportunity like that this year he’s made it count.”
