Bleacher Report - Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes Continue to Get Hurt By Penalties

Derek Pivko — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:07:25 -0500

Perhaps the Phoenix Coyotes should change their name to the Phoenix Penalties?

The Phoenix Coyotes failed last night's “Hockey 101” broadcasting last night. I’m not sure which was worse: listening to last nights broadcast or watching the Coyotes continue to give up pointless penalties.

If we have learned anything about the Coyotes this season, it is that they are a young team playing in an adult league. The Coyotes continue to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to losing games because of penalties.

Lasts night a prime example of shooting themselves in the foot occurred late in the first period when Jim Vandermeer was whistled for a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for running Kurtis Foster in the boards.

One thing that the Coyotes are lacking right now is defense. The Coyotes are already missing their top defensive line in Ed Jovanovski and Zbynek Michalek and losing Vandermeer due to a game misconduct cost the Coyotes the game last night.

The Coyotes gave up 28 minutes in penalties last night, which is the third highest on the season (29 minutes against Buffalo on Oct. 8 and 39 minutes against Anaheim on Oct. 31). On average the Coyotes give up 14.85 on penalty minutes a game.

While most of those penalty minutes are from Paul Bissonnette for fighting, the rest of the penalties have cost the Coyotes several games this season. Every game is important for the Coyotes, they can afford to lose games due to penalties.

Last night's game against Tampa Bay was one of the worst games they played all season. Granted they were without Matthew Lombardi, Kurt Sauer, Ed Jovanovski and Zbynek Michalek and Tampa Bay’s back up goaltender Mike Smith had an incredible game.

The only thing that was incredible for the Coyotes was seeing veterans such as Vandermeer and Vernon Fiddler make careless decisions costing the Coyotes a victory against Tampa Bay.

Every game is important for the Coyotes, they can not afford to lose games due to careless errors. You never know when the injury bug will come into effect and cost players such as Shane Doan or Ilya Bryzgalov to miss games. The month of November has not been good for the Coyotes. Out of the seven games the Coyotes have played in November, they have only won two.

The month of November will be one to remember if the Coyotes continue to play the style of hockey that they are playing right now. It was only last month when the Coyotes were considered the hottest team in the NHL, that title has now moved to the Colorado Avalanche.

If the Coyotes are serious about making a run in the playoffs perhaps they should have listened to last night's “Hockey 101” broadcast and perhaps they can learn a thing or two about staying out of the penalty box.

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Shane Doan Continues To Lead the Way for the Phoenix Coyotes

Cameron Paul — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:54:05 -0500

Ever since Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick left the Phoenix, Shane Doan has been the heart and soul for the Coyotes. He has led or been near the top in every offensive category for Phoenix in the past eight seasons.

Shane Doan took over as the Coyotes captain from Teppo Numminen back in the 2003-04 season and since then has been considered one of the best captains in the league. Doan has captained Team Canada twice at the World Championship, winning gold in 2007.

Never has Doan's leadership skills been needed then now, with a such young Phoenix Coyotes team. The Coyotes added veteran players like Adrian Aucoin and Vernon Fiddler this past offseason to help Doan with the leadership aspect of the team.

During the 2008 NHL Entry Draft the Coyotes acquired Olli Jokinen from the Florida Panthers. Jokinen was supposed to help take off the pressure of Doan being the one counted on to produce offense. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out and Jokinen was traded to Calgary at the 2009 trade deadline.

This past offseason the Coyotes did not add any big name players to the team, but still added a few players who can contribute decent offensively. Robert Lang and Radim Vrbata were brought in to put pucks in the net and so far they have.

Even with the new players, Shane Doan continues to lead the Coyotes in most offensive categories this season. Although he is leading the team, everyone in the lineup seems to be producing when called upon.

With the Coyotes young players learning and improving each day, maybe in a few years Doan will no longer have to play such a big role for the Coyotes like he currently is. If the Coyotes want any shot of the playoffs this season, though, Doan will have to continue to play a very significant and huge role with the Coyotes.

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Paul Bissonnette: The Next Tie Domi?

Derek Pivko — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:50:27 -0500

Every team in the NHL has an enforcer.

However, The Phoenix Coyotes skated into training camp without their “enforcer” on the team. They would find their problem solver three days before the start of the 2009-2010 season.

Paul Bissonnette, 24, was claimed on waivers by the Coyotes back on Oct. 1after failing to make the Pittsburgh Penguins roster. Bissonnette started his career as a defenseman but has since translated into a unique forward.

Todd Richards, the head coach of the Minnesota Wild, made the move for Bissonnette from defense to forward while he was playing in Wilkes-Barre.

Richards told Bissonnette that they were going to move him up front as a try-out. The try-out has since been successful, as Bissonnette is now a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.

There is a certain reward for playing the style of play that Bissonnette has. The Frank Selke Trophy is awarded to the top defensive forward in the NHL. Last year, Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings won the Frank Selke Trophy.

If Bissonnette continues to play as an intimidating defensive forward, he could considered as a candidate for the Frank Selke Trophy at the end of the season.

Although he is not known as a scorer, he’s only taken two shots all season, with one of them going in. Instead, he is known for sticking up for his team mates on the ice.

If you haven’t seen him play on the ice this season, then you probably have seen him in the penalty box. Bissonnette leads the team in penalty minutes despite missing the first three games of the season due to being a last-minute addition to the team.

Bissonnette has become a fan favorite in Glendale but also an opponent’s headache this season. Bissonnette currently has six fights on the year and heading into tonight’s game against Dallas, don’t be surprised if he adds another fight to his resume.

Although it is early in his career, Bissonnette has the makings of becoming the next Tie Domi. Domi played 16 seasons in the NHL and was known throughout the league as the enforcer.

Domi should have built his house next to the penalty box as he served 3,515 minutes in the penalty box, which is almost equivalent to sitting 59 straight games in the penalty box.

Domi’s most memorable moment came while he was in the penalty box. Back in 2001, an intoxicated fan jumped into the penalty box after Domi squirted the fans with his water bottle.

The fan then knocked over the glass causing him to have a once in a lifetime experience and fight perhaps the greatest “heavyweight” of all-time in the NHL, Tie Domi.

Domi was never known as a goal scorer; instead, he prowled the ice watching out for his team mates or when necessary gave a momentum swing for his team, similar to the role Bissonnette has with Phoenix.

It is only a matter of time until the rest of the NHL takes notice of the secret weapon that is starting to become unraveled in Phoenix.

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