Rested Coyotes are ready to play

“It’s good to have the rest,” defenseman Keith Yandle
said. “Obviously it’s playoff time, you need the rest, you
need to heal the bumps and bruises.”

By the time the puck drops on the Western Conference Final
series between the Coyotes and Kings, five full days will
have passes since the last time Phoenix took the ice in a
game.

And, while to a man they said they appreciate the rest,
they’re also ready to get back on the ice for games, not
practice.

“You want to get going, it’s a long wait,” center Antoine
Vermette said. “It’s going to be emotional, it’s going to
be intense. It should be a lot of fun.”

You know, when it actually starts.

Until then the players are focusing on trying to stay
sharp, though captain Shane Doan said there is little fear
of the team coming out rusty.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said.

Doan is right, because if anyone should be rusty it’s the
Kings, since they will have been resting for one day
longer than the Coyotes. But, either both teams will be
rusty or neither will — either way, it should not have an
affect on Sunday’s Game 1.

You know, once it actually gets here. And it will, though
it can’t come soon enough for a team that is playing some
good hockey of late.

“I’m not sure about the players, the coaches are anxious
to get going,” Coyotes boss Dave Tippett joked.

Tippett, though, acknowledged that his team is starting to
pick up the intensity.
“If we’re chomping at the bit [Friday] we’ll be nervous by
Sunday,” he said. “So we’ll continue to just build our
game and hopefully Sunday our guys are at the point where
they’re ready to go.”

Follow @theAdamGreen