‘Yotes Notes: Smith earns third shutout of the season in Coyotes win
Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a hockey game. So, we will give you ‘Yotes Notes, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the Coyotes’ 4-0 win over the Flames on February 18.
The Good:
The Coyotes get a big 4-0 win over the visiting Flames on Monday night. Defenseman Keith Yandle set the tone early, scoring a goal in the first shift of the game just 0:41 seconds into the first period. After that it was pretty much smooth sailing with goals by Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette and Raffi Torres in the third period.
Goalie Mike Smith recorded his third shutout of the season with 30 saves on the night.
The Bad:
After putting together back-to-back wins over the Blue Jackets and the Flames, the ‘Yotes will have to wait until Saturday to get back on the ice for a game against Edmonton.
They probably would have liked to keep the momentum going from these two impressive performances, but they also could use the next few days to get some of their injured players back.
On Monday night they were still missing Derek Morris, Radim Vrbata, Matthew Lombardi and David Schlemko.
Noted:
• After the Coyotes lost four of the their first five games to start the season, they’ve now recorded wins in four of their last five and six of their last eight games overall. The ‘Yotes have also won nine of the last 12 meetings with the Flames.
• Phoenix is also now 5-1 when scoring first in this shortened season and 105-13-5 overall since Dave Tippett became coach of the ‘Yotes in the 2009-2010 season.
• The Coyotes had an overcapacity crowd of 17,208 on hand for the win. Lots of Calgary fans were in the house, but either way it was a sold out crowd on a weeknight for a Coyotes hockey game.
He Said It:
Head coach Dave Tippett felt his team did what they needed to do Monday to get the win.
“We were pretty solid in a lot of areas,” Tippett said. “We had an advantage [Monday] with a team that played last night coming in and I thought our guys did a good job of just continuing to pound away and the third period it paid off for us.”
Up Next:
The Coyotes enjoy a long stretch off from game action. They’ll enjoy a day off on Tuesday, then practice the rest of the week before they hit the road to play at Edmonton on Saturday February 23rd at 1:30 p.m. MST.
