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It doesn’t matter if it’s a matinee or night game. It doesn’t matter if they’re wearing red, white or throwback jerseys. The fact is the Coyotes aren’t doing much of anything well right now, and their wounds are on the verge of bleeding out.
The Coyotes (9-11-2) lost their fourth straight game on Sunday, ending a five-game homestand with a 6-1 blowout loss to the Calgary Flames. The Coyotes managed just a 1-3-1 record and now hit the road to face the formidable Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators.
With just one goal on Sunday, the Coyotes have found the back of the net just eight times in their last six games. They have not scored more than two goals in a game since Nov. 11 in Washington, D.C.
The Coyotes’ power play has continued to fail them. They are just 1 for their last 7 on the man-advantage and have allowed five short-handed goals in their past two games after not allowing a single one before that.
“The power play is horrendous,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said after the game. “It has really cost us. The effort on the power play is not there. The 5-on-5, we’re fine … but you lose juice on the power play.”
The return of No. 1 goaltender Antti Raanta also hasn’t gone as swimmingly as the Coyotes had hoped. Granted, he’s not getting much help from his teammates, but several of the 11 goals the Coyotes have allowed in the past two games can be at least partially pinned to Raanta’s uneasy play since returning from a lower-body injury.
After allowing the sixth goal of the game early in the third period, Raanta was pulled in favor of backup Adin Hill. Raanta made 20 saves on 26 shots.
Even the almighty penalty kill has shown some chinks in the armor. They’ve allowed two goals in the past two games and, while still the undeniable strength of this team, haven’t looked as dominant in recent games.
The result of all this was an extremely disappointing homestand, which was capped by the two worst games the Coyotes have played all season. After allowing five goals to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, the Coyotes came out flat once again and suffered consecutive laughable losses at Gila River Arena.
“We’ve just got to get back to working hard,” Coyotes alternate captain Derek Stepan said. “I think we’ve got a group that maybe has lost some of its swagger. It’s really difficult to work hard when you’re frustrated. Sometimes we work hard and don’t work as smart as we need to throughout a game.
“I don’t know what the exact, direct answer is to get back on track here. But I’m confident that this group understand we need to get back to the identity we were starting to build here. I think everyone in this room knows it’s unacceptable what’s happened.”
Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin, taken two spots after Dylan Strome in the 2015 draft, scored once on the power play and once while short-handed to pace the Calgary attack. Mark Jankowski also scored twice. Sean Monahan and T.J. Brodie provided the other tallies for the Flames.
Clayton Keller scored the lone goal for the Coyotes late in the third period with the team trailing by six. He intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and wristed one over the stick of Flames goaltender Mike Smith, who spent six seasons with the Coyotes.
Once again on Sunday, the Coyotes found themselves chasing the game in the first period and heading into the first intermission with a deficit. When trailing after one period this season, the Coyotes are now 0-6-1.
Given their recent struggles on offense, the Coyotes really aren’t in position to chase any deficit. They scored more than one goal on just one occasion during their five-game homestand. Simply put, the Coyotes will not win games that way.
“We need to figure this out quickly,” Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “They way we’ve played the last 3-4 games, we’ve just been too easy to play against and just (making) too many mistakes. In this league, once you (make) mistakes it usually ends up in your net.”
This homestand was a chance for the Coyotes to keep themselves relevant in a still-underwhelming Pacific Division race. But if they don’t make some changes soon, their only competition will be with the Los Angeles Kings for the No. 8 position in the standings.
Den’s digest
The score: Flames 6, Coyotes 1.
The streak: L4.
The record: 9-11-2, 7th in Pacific.
The 82-game pace: 34-41-7, 75 points.
The player: Noah Hanifin.
The moment: Hanifin’s shorthanded goal at 16:22 of the first period.
The number: 5 — The number of shorthanded goals the Coyotes have allowed in the last two games.
The quote: “It’s not even the record. It’s that some guys have to start playing. Some of our high level guys have to be able to play. They’re on the power play, they’re getting opportunities to go on the power play, and we need some kind of juice there. I’m not saying we have to score, but we need some kind of momentum. … That’s the stuff where you’ve just got to stay locked in.” — Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet
View from the press box: This was a bad game in all phases for the Coyotes and the worst they have looked in a long time. Their power play is fundamentally broken, Antti Raanta isn’t sharp, and the penalty kill can’t bail them out any longer. They need to figure it out, and quick.
Song of the night: “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” by My Chemical Romance.
READ MORE
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- For Chandler native Lyndsey Fry, hockey odyssey has come full circle with Coyotes
Richard Morin covers the Coyotes and Diamondbacks for azcentral sports. He can be reached at [email protected] and by phone at 480-316-2493. Follow him on Twitter @ramorin_azc.
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