Shorthanded Coyotes host Avalanche
Mar 22, 2012, 9:04 PM | Updated: 10:18 pm
Eight games to play.
Three points separating six teams battling for the last
two NHL Western Conference playoff spots.
The Phoenix Coyotes are one of those teams in the mix, but
they’ve got a disadvantage that the others don’t.
They’ll be without their captain for the next three games.
Shane Doan was supspended by the NHL for his elbow on
Dallas Stars’ forward Jamie Benn in the Coyotes’ 4-3
shootout loss Monday night.
Thursday, Doan spoke about his suspension.
“I feel awful for the situation I’ve put a bunch of people
in,” Doan told Dave Vest of
PhoenixCoyotes.com.
Despite his absence, Doan remains confident that his
teammates will persevere and stay focused on the task at
hand – wrapping up a third consecutive playoff spot.
“We’ve done it all year long where in every situation
where we’ve had a few guys out here or there, or guys that
we’re missing, we’ve always responded and played great, so
I don’t expect anything different,” he said. “Three huge
games coming up here in four days, and we’ve just got to
find ways to win them.”
The three games Doan misses via suspension will be the
first contests Phoenix will be without their captain all
season.
The stretch of huge games Doan referred to starts Thursday
night at Jobing.com Arena against the Colorado Avalanche,
who are, you guessed it, another one of the teams tightly
bunched and jockeying for their playoff lives.
The Coyotes are 2-1 against Colorado this season,
including a 6-1 win in their last meeting January 16 in
Glendale.
The ‘Yotes then play in San Jose on Saturday before
returning home for 4 straight home dates against St.
Louis, San Jose, Anaheim and Columbus.
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