Who'da thunk it?
Well, if you're a Phoenix Coyotes fan, this has to be a pleasant
surprise.
The loss of Jeremy Roenick was supposed to spell nothing but gloom
and doom for the Coyotes as they headed into the first round of the
playoffs against St. Louis. But a funny thing happened on the way
to an early exit from the postseason.
The Coyotes have won three of four from the Blues and are in total
command of the series.
How did the Coyotes do it? Beats me. I only saw two periods of the
fourth game. But if that's any indication of the rest of the
series, there were plenty of signs as to why the Dogs are in
control.
Reason No. 1: Khabby, Khabby, Khabby. Nikolai Khabibulin has been
a force to be reckoned with in the series. Remember how well he
played early in the regular season? Well, he looks just as good
now. He is out on his angles. And he hasn't let in a bunch of
those softy goals he's been prone to let in in the past.
Reason No. 2: Hustle. With Roenick out of the lineup, the rest of
the team has come together and shown that they're willing to do
whatever is necessary to win. If that means Keith Tkachuck
sacrificing his body to block a MacInnis slapper, so be it.
Reason No. 3: A little luck. Lady luck has been with the Coyotes
throughout the last three games. Even when the Blues rallied to
come back from a 4-0 deficit in Game 3, the Coyotes still managed
to squeak out a win. And in Game 4, it looked as if Khabby pulled
out some Jedi mind tricks on the Blues. St. Louis had an
incredible amount of chances to tie the game at 2, but every time
the Blues shot the puck, it ended up going wide. Use the force,
Khabby...
Daddy Mac does it again
The legacy of the Al MacInnis slap shot is growing faster in Phoenix
than the rumors about Michael Dell's Uncle Earl.
MacInnis, who owns the deadliest slap shot in the league, let one
rip in Game Two that broke the right foot of Coyote
center Juha Ylonen.
Ylonen, who will be out 4-6 weeks, is the third Coyote player to
receive a broken bone this season thanks to a MacInnis
slapper. The Finnish center will be sorely (no pun intended) missed
by the Coyotes, who were already without the team's top pivot,
Jeremy Roenick. Roenick's still enjoying eating his meals through a
straw thanks to a People's elbow courtesy of Dallas defenseman
Derian Hatcher.
Ylonen isn't the only one hurting. Defensemen Deron Quint and Gerald
Diduck are also out of the lineup due to injuries.
