EDMONTON — You can’t live for long like this, though as the Arizona Coyotes will attest, you can live to fight for another day.
The Coyotes rode hockey’s best-kept secret, Darcy Kuemper, along with 27 blocked shots and two empty-net goals to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The win gives them their first win in their Round 1 series against the Avs, but nobody is of the mind that they’ll be able to win three more games if the ice remains as tilted as it was on Saturday afternoon in Edmonton.
“It’s not ideal to have that many shot attempts against,” admitted Coyotes winger Taylor Hall. “We know our goalie … if he’s seeing the shot he’ll make the save.
“I think we played great in our own zone, but we need to push a little bit more … in their end.”
No kidding.
When Derek Stepan snapped home a puck from the low spot on a feed from Clayton Keller just 6:29 into the game, it was Arizona’s first lead of the series. Then Brad Richardson sniped a goal at 19:34 of Period 2, putting the Avs ahead 2-1 at the break despite being outshot 36-16.
The final shots on goal read 51-23 for the Avalanche, with the shot attempts at 78-31. According to Natural Stat Trick, the scoring chances in this game were 39-17 in favour of Colorado, which came in waves at Kuemper. “That’s who we are,” Stepan said. “That’s our identity. We have to play that way. I think we have to push a little more on the offensive side of things… But at this time of year, nothing matters but the end result.”
That is fair, though when head coach Rick Tocchet was informed that a few of his players had mentioned a need for more offence, he was quick to respond.
“They’re right,” he said. “But you’ve got to be able to execute the plays. When a guy makes the play or blocks a shot and get possession, it’s like guys are all holding their breath. Like, ‘What now?’ When you play a highly skilled team like Colorado, it’s not like you’re scared, but you want to stay in your spot. When you stay in your spot, you’re not looking for offence.
“We’re going to have to generate some offence, some plays, if we’re going to get back in this series.”
While Colorado has used both of their goalies in this series — Pavel Francouz played in Game 3 — Kuemper has played every second for the Coyotes in Edmonton, bringing a .926 saves percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average into Game 3.
In fact, since Jan. 1 2019 Kuemper’s numbers — .931 and 2.18 — both rank No. 1 in the NHL.
That’s right folks. Kuemper is literally the best goalie in hockey over the past year and a half, a fact that may be lost on those who don’t consider the low-scoring Coyotes to be appointment viewing.
“A lot of guys on our team probably take him for granted,” Hall said. “Not only is he making saves, but he’s not out of position making a five-bell save every time. He makes it look pretty easy.”
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Truly, Arizona really only extended their lifeline by a game here. There is simply no way a team can win three more games in this fashion, being dominated to this extent by the opponent yet somehow coming out ahead on the scoreboard. In the third period, Arizona barely touched the puck, other than guys courageously diving in front of Avalanche shots, time after time.
“Ideally we’d want to have more chances than we had in the last half of the game. But you have to play situational hockey, know what the time and score is, who’s out there for the other team,” Hall said. “Whether it’s lucky or not we’re getting to the dirty areas, scoring the goals kind of the same way every time. It’s a fun way to play.”
One place the Coyotes could find a few goals would be their power play. After an 0-for-3 night in Game 3, the ‘Yotes are 0-for-9 on the series. Meanwhile, the Avalanche are searching for some goal production from their captain Gabriel Landeskog, who has zero goals in six games now.
“Honestly, I’m not too worried about it,” he said. “I try to do my best every shift and contribute to the team in other ways as well. Obviously, I’d like to put the puck in the net, but I know it’s gonna come.”
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