Evaluations continue during Arizona Coyotes’ stretch run

TAMPA, Fla. – In just a few weeks, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett will have a full season’s worth of work to analyze for each player – a performance review that will act as a road map so everyone can embark on the offseason knowing what he needs to improve.

With Tuesday’s pit stop in Tampa Bay the start of the final 10 games on the schedule, it may seem too late to alter the evaluation that’s already been made through 72 games – either positively or negatively. But for a certain segment of the roster, this push to the finish line could still shape how its play is viewed.

“Every player is different that way,” Tippett said. “You have some veteran players where they have a track record of what they’ve done, and these last 10 games is probably not going to be the indicator. But you have young players … that are trying to leave a really good impression going into the summer. That will be front and center, I think, the last 10 games.”

Despite a poor showing by the team that is still stuck 29th overall in the NHL standings after getting mathematically eliminated from playoff contention Monday following a 3-1 loss to the Predators, not every individual has struggled.

Take winger Radim Vrbata, who has enjoyed a renaissance season in his return to Arizona by eclipsing the 50-point plateau for the fifth time in his career. Winger Tobias Rieder has also been a steady contributor, and center/wing Jordan Martinook’s versatility will no doubt be a flattering note on his report card.

Overall, though, players are probably scattered into categories of exceeding expectations, meeting them or falling short, Tippett said. And while the ones who identify with the latter two might have a tough time shaking that label this late in the season, a strong 10-game finish wouldn’t be insignificant.

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An offensive outburst would likely key a surge in confidence for winger Anthony Duclair, whose goal-scoring struggles have dominated his sophomore season. Winger Jamie McGinn’s production is also way below what he amassed last season, but there’s still time for him to generate some positive momentum going into next season.

Same for defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is closing out what he’s termed an “off” season.

But the players that might have the most chance to influence their evaluations are the rookies since they’re the ones experiencing a jump in opportunity at this point of the schedule.

One example happened Tuesday with winger Christian Fischer being ushered from the American Hockey League as the team’s final non-emergency call-up. Fischer played against the Lightning; captain Shane Doan did not. Doan remains sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Center Laurent Dauphin, who was recalled on an emergency basis, was returned to Tucson.

“This last 10 games is kind of like a showcase for yourself, and obviously you’ve shown what you’ve done through the year,” Martinook said. “But if you can show you can bring more, I feel like that can get (you) put in different roles a little bit toward the end of the season. If you can show you can do something that maybe they didn’t see you doing, then that’s obviously a positive.”

At the beginning of the season, winger Lawson Crouse wasn’t used much on the penalty kill; lately, he’s been a regular – an evolution that the team is still watching.

What’s more, players have goals to attain every game and these targets are tailored to each player’s role. For Crouse, it’s his shots, hits and blocked shots whereas winger Brendan Perlini is aiming to generate chances while also improving his work along the walls and battle play. As for defenseman Jakob Chychrun, he tries to win more than 50 percent of his battles while also getting off enough shots.

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“Players really do grab onto things like that,” Tippett said.

What’s logged in a year-end review is different from these game-to-game objectives, but these nightly contributions do help influence a player’s ultimate impact.

And that will probably be hard to ignore when it comes time to recap a player’s entire body of work.

“The season’s not over until that last game, and we all know that,” Crouse said. “As a hockey player, I go by the saying, ‘You’re only as good as your last shift.’ For me, that’s battling right until the end. Just because there’s 10 games left doesn’t mean anything. We have to play hard and right to the end.”

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.