A midseason look at the Coyotes: By the Numbers
Jan 16, 2017, 7:01 AM
Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) celebrates a win against the Winnipeg Jets with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) after an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Jets 4-3. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The 13-23-6 Arizona Coyotes have predictably struggled this season. The eighth-youngest team in the NHL has not made the playoffs since 2012 and has experienced issues on offense and defense all year.
At the midpoint in the season, however, there are several intriguing numbers that give a more in-depth picture into some of the biggest storylines of their season. Here are a few:
.381: The Coyotes’ .381 points percentage this season is the second-lowest in a single season since the team moved from Winnipeg in 1996. The only lower percentage was .341 in the 2014-15 season.
-47: The Coyotes have been outscored 133-86 this season. Their -47 scoring margin is second-worst in the NHL behind the Colorado Avalanche.
58: Mike Smith’s 58 saves on Dec. 3 against the Columbus Blue Jackets set a franchise record and were the most by any goalie this season.
3: Smith also became the third goalie in Coyotes history to be selected to an All-Star Game.
0: The number of games in which the Coyotes have held their opponents to zero goals. They are the only NHL team to not have a shutout this season.
1,508: Shane Doan’s 1,508 games played with one franchise ranks sixth in NHL history.
17: Doan is 17th in overall games played and third among active players, trailing only Jaromir Jagr (1,673 games) and Jarome Iginla (1,514).
5: Doan is only the fifth player to hold his franchise’s records for games, goals, assists, points, GWG and PPG, which he did when he broke the franchise assists record Dec. 8 against the Calgary Flames. He joined the Blue Jackets’ Rick Nash, the Carolina Hurricanes’ Ron Francis, the Dallas Stars’ Mike Modano and the Colorado Avalanche’s Joe Sakic in this exclusive club.
67: Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s 67 goals since the start of the 2013-14 season is the second-most by any defenseman during that span. He trails only Shea Weber’s 68 in that category.
18: Jakob Chychrun became the youngest player to make his debut in Coyotes history at 18 years and 198 days old on Oct. 15 in a season-opening win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
9-18-27: Radim Vrbata leads the team in goals (9), assists (18) and points (27). If he were to lead the team in all three categories at the end of the season, Vrbata would be the first Coyote to do so since Doan did it in the 2008-09 season when he had 31 goals and 42 assists for a total of 73 points.
