Coyotes officially eliminated from playoffs with loss to Predators

NASHVILLE – The Coyotes have known their fate for quite some time, but it wasn’t until Monday that the math finally caught up with reality.

A 3-1 loss to the Predators at Bridgestone Arena to start a five-game road trip officially eliminated the Coyotes from playoff contention with 10 games to go.

“It’s never fun playing the spoiler role, but we gotta grow as a group,” winger Jamie McGinn said. “Hopefully there’s a lot of faces back next year, and we gotta grow in these final 10 games and get better. We gotta stick together and work together.”

Stuck at 61 points, the most the Coyotes could end up with at season’s end is 81 if they win out. Even if that happens and the Blues, who currently hold the second wild-card berth, lose in regulation the rest of the way, Arizona would only tie St. Louis in points, and and the Coyotes don’t own the tiebreaker (the number of regulation and overtime wins). The gap between the two teams in that area is already wider (17) than the number of games the Coyotes have left.

“We want to start off now building for the next year,” defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. “Obviously, it’s important.”

BOX SCORE: Predators 3, Coyotes 1

Solving their scoring woes would probably help with that goal and get the Coyotes back on track for the remainder of their trip.

After getting blanked 3-0 by the Blues on Saturday, they didn’t score until there was 3:55 left in regulation Monday. Ekman-Larsson one-timed a feed from center Christian Dvorak by Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne for his first goal in 22 games.

The power-play marker, Ekman-Larsson’s eighth of the season, tied Fredrik Olausson at 40 for the most power-play goals by a defenseman in franchise history. It also moved him past Olausson for the third-most goals in franchise history by a defenseman (87).

“We just moved the puck around really good, and Devo made an unbelievable pass over a guy who laid down,” Ekman-Larsson said. “I just shot it right away.”

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Ekman-Larsson’s goal snapped the team’s scoreless skid at 123:35, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the three-goal lead the Predators built earlier in the game.

A clearing attempt by Dvorak banked off winger Viktor Arvidsson and over goalie Mike Smith five minutes into the second period. The Predators added their second with 3:16 to go in the period on a blistering one-timer from defenseman Ryan Ellis, who scored another one-timer at 6:35 of the third.

“Devo made the right play trying to clear the front of the net, and it just hits someone and goes in,” McGinn said.

The Coyotes finished with 26 shots on net and had another 21 attempts blocked or miss the net. With almost 50 throws toward the net, they’re finding looks in the offensive zone but execution is clearly lacking.

And when that’s the case, more chances can’t hurt.

“We have to be over 30 (shots) every night to give ourselves a chance,” McGinn said. “It’s not always the end-to-end plays that go in the net, so we gotta put more pucks from the side of the net. Just get them to the blue paint and chip away.”

Arizona doesn’t have much time to stew over this loss. The team concludes a back-to-back Tuesday against Tampa Bay, another opportunity to set the tone for how the rest of the season could play out.

“The good thing about this game is we have another chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow,” defenseman Zbynek Michalek said. “Definitely not a start for the long trip that we wanted tonight, but hopefully we can come out with a better effort tomorrow and better result.”

RELATED:Michalek returns to NHL in Coyotes’ loss

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Key player

Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis scored twice.

Key moment

The Predators went up 2-0 at 16:44 of the second period on a one-timer from Ellis.

Key number

25 saves by Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.

View from the press box

The Coyotes expected this road trip to challenge them with most of their opponents playoff-bound or vying for an invite, and this game certainly did that. Neither team looked to have an edge in the first period, but the Predators aren’t easy to shake off. Their speed can be a handful, and they were able to capitalize – which has been a struggle for the Coyotes. This trip continues Tuesday against the Lightning, and a reset then would no doubt help the Coyotes prevent this trip from going downhill in a hurry. “You’re looking for people to step up,” coach Dave Tippett said. “Our young players should have lots of energy. It’s a great time for them to jump in there and play well.”