Phoenix Coyotes 2010 Preview & Predictions

Phoenix Coyotes 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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PHOENIX COYOTES

2009-10 record: 50-25-7
Shootout Record: 14-6
Division Finish: 2nd, Pacific
Conference Finish: 4th, Western
Goals For: 225
Goals Against: 202

Phoenix Coyotes 2010 Preview

They did not wave the white flag in Arizona, but they did wave madly during a few White Outs.

No better visual statement that hockey was alive again in the desert could be made than the thousands who jammed Jobing.com Arena in Glendale wearing their plain white playoff paraphernalia, as was tradition for the one-time Winnipeg Jets.

The Coyotes were indeed playing in mid-April, thanks to a lot of hard work on and off the ice that not only kept the club in town, but rewarded fans with a stunning 107-point season, a jump of 28.

Praise was channeled in several directions, starting with Don Maloney, winner of the League’s inaugural general manager of the year award.

In the most successful regular season the team .has had, its Manitoba years included, Maloney rebuilt several facets on short notice, adding players such as Wojtek Wolski, Derek Morris, Mathieu Schneider, Taylor Pyatt, Robert Lang, Adrian Aucoin, Vernon Fiddler, Lee Stempniak, Petteri Nokelainen, Radim Vrbata, Sami Lepisto, Lauri Korpikoski, Jim Vandermeer and Jason LaBarbera, though some have moved on already.

Having solidified the back end, at the trade deadline Maloney added Stempniak and Wolski up front. Stempniak was typical of the strong return Maloney received for his deals, getting 14 goals and recording a plus-10 in just 18 regular season games.

Coach Dave Tippett, hired in the wild days of ownership uncertainty prior to training camp, wound up the winner of the Jack Adams. Tippett’s attention to detail on defense was a touchstone for a team in need of some traction. Under Tippett, the team was 50-25-7, numbers closely associated with his best days behind the Dallas Stars’ bench.

In Tippett’s seven seasons in the League, his clubs have always been over .500 and only once failed to win at least 41 games, or get to at least 97 points.

Maloney and Tippett were joined on League awards night by Ilya Bryzgalov, the Vezina Trophy nominee who had eight shutouts among other impressive numbers. Remember that Coyotes’ players and coaches had not come very close to awards of any kind since the team arrived here in the 1990s.

Of course it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Just when it appeared the Coyotes might challenge the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division and the entire conference, forward Scottie Upshall suffered a serious knee injury, taking 18 goals and 32 points out of the picture.

Leading scorer Shane Dean played just three playoff matches against Detroit. It’s expected both will be back in A-l condition, but Maloney had to think how much better the player experience ratio would have been in the seven-game opening-round playoff loss to the veteran laden Red Wings with Upshall in the house.

Phoenix and its fans were enthusiastic in the first playoff appearance since 2002, but could not keep the seasoned Wings at bay in the seventh game. But many teams will certainly have the Coyotes circled on their schedule this year.

2010 Phoenix Coyotes Offense:

In case you didn’t believe the old adage that the best offense is a good defense, the Coyotes branched out from 208 goals in ’08-09 to 225, despite concentrating more on cleaning up their own end. Clutch scoring was a specialty for Phoenix, which won a League-high 19 overtime games, 11 on the road. Aucoin had six of their club’s 14 shootout winners. Doan saw his numbers drop from 73 to 55 points, but for once he didn’t have to be the one-man offensive force of previous seasons. Wolksi was on a point-a-game pace after arriving from Colorado, finishing first in team scoring and adding four goals against the Wings in the playoffs. Joining the crew will be one of the most dangerous scorers of the older generation, ex-Hurricane Ray Whitney, who had nearly 60 points at age 38.

2010 Phoenix Coyotes Defense:

Though the imports turned the tide for Maloney and Tippett, one of the best performances was put in by homebrew draft pick Keith Yandle, who didn’t miss a game, was a plus-16 and led the blueline with 41 points, just ahead of Ed Jovanovski. Speaking of whom, the team continues to utilize the 34-year-old, who played almost 22 minutes a game and scored 11 times, including his first in the playoffs since 2003 in Vancouver. Morris came back for a second stint and did well in the playoffs, while Aucoin had a strong finish at both ends of the ice. Lepisto’s plus-14 was just behind Yandle and third on the squad behind Wolski’s plus-21.

2010 Phoenix Coyotes Goaltending:

Bryzgalov never had 30 wins in a season, never mind 42, and the eight shutouts matched his career high in 189 previous games. He set a new franchise appearance record, playing in 69 games, and recorded a 2.29 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. In starting 36 of the team’s final 43 games, he was 2212- 2, including playoffs. LaBarbera departed Vancouver after a very short stint as Roberto Luongo’s backup and won eight games here, with a tidy 2.13 goals-against average. He’s still looking for his first League playoff action.

Phoenix Coyotes 2010 Special Teams

Any strong defensive team must have penalty killing as part of its persona and Phoenix is no different. The Coyotes were sixth in the League with an 84.5% mark, though Detroit bit into them for eight goals in seven games. Fiddler had three short-handed goals. The power play was a different story, a struggle much of the year and 28th overall. Phoenix was the worst at home all season, ending with a 13.6% success rate. Among Coyotes who stayed in Phoenix all year, Vrbata had seven goals, Doan, Yandle and Jovanovski five each. Stempniak wound up with nine goals split between Phoenix and Toronto.

Phoenix Coyotes 2010 Season Predictions

After such a magical campaign last season, a lot of things have to go right again in order for the Coyotes to be back in the playoffs next spring. They must continue to receive excellent goaltending, timely scoring and avoid being felled by the injury bug. With other teams bound to improve, there will be precious little room for stagnation. And now, of course, they will also have to deal with the pressure of expectations.

We predict that the Phoenix Coyotes will finish 3rd in the NHL Pacific.

Phoenix Coyotes Betting

Phoenix Coyotes Stanley Cup Odds: +30000
Phoenix Coyotes Western Conference Odds: +1300

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