The Phoenix Coyotes came into the week of February 19th on a five-game winning streak which has giving them greater verve as they try to make their third straight playoff appearance. At 27-20-9, going into the week, Phoenix was in eighth place in the Western Conference and had three-games for the week of February 19.
On Monday, February 13 the Coyotes headed north to take on the reigning Western Conference champs the Vancouver Canucks. Currently the Canucks are in second place in the Western Conference and are riding a wave of top play that has lead to eight wins in their last ten games. The Coyote are no slouches either , going into the Monday’s matchup, they were riding a five-game win streak but like all good things it came to an end. In this case, it came to an end in an overtime shootout
In a proverbial war of attrition both teams managed just one goal each during regulation. Jason Labarbera started in the net for the Coyotes, to give regular goalie Mike Smith so much deserved rest, and responded with a solid performance that saw him stop 21-22 shots on goal in the 2-1 loss.
"We hoped (LaBarbera) would give us a good effort… He's played well in this building before,” said Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett. “He was solid. He stopped the ones he had to. He managed to give us a point."
The loss ended the Coyotes five-game winning streak and dropped their record to 27-21-9 for the 2011-12 campaign.
The Coyotes headed west on February 16th to take on the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings were one spot ahead of the Coyotes in the Western Conference standings and the matchup had a playoff atmosphere. Coyotes’ goalie Mike Smith stopped all 23-shots he faced and Vrbata scored the only goal of the contest as the Coyotes won 1-0.
"Everyone realized how big of a game it was and how important it was for us to find a way to win,” Doan said. “They’re ahead of us in the standings, they've got the position we want, and everybody is chasing everybody right now."
On February 18th the Coyotes headed back to their den at Jobing.com Arena to take on the Dallas Stars. In a 2-1 overtime victory, Phoenix continued their recent success that has lead to seven wins in their last ten games. Once again Coyotes’ goalie Mike Smith was stellar as he stopped 30 of 31 shots. Smith has not surrendered more than one goal per game since the Coyotes February 4th game against the San Jose Sharks.
"This team has grown a lot in the last two or three weeks,” Smith said. “ After the All-Star break, we came back rejuvenated and ready to work, and I really think we came a long way."
Vrbata scored the game winning goal in overtime on an assist from Ray Whitney. It was Vrbata’s 28th goal of the season, which leads the team.
"I was running out of room there and I wanted to make sure I had a lane to shoot,” Vrbata said. “ ... I'm just glad those (game-winning) goals are helping our team to get points."
The win improved the Coyotes overall record to 29-21-9 (67) and with their current streak, winning 7 out of their last 8 games, they have passed the Los Angeles Kings for seventh place in the Western Conference.
News & Notes:
The Coyotes have recalled forward Matt Watkins and defensemen Michael Stone from the Portland Pirates, their American Hockey League affiliate.
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