It ends tonight. It HAS to end tonight.  The Coyotes should be bolstered by the return of Steven Reinprecht and Derek Morris.  Some of the veterans had the morning off.  There should some extra “jam” as they like to say. “Jump.” “Energy.” “Desperation.”  You name it.

This cannot be like just one of 82. It isn’t. Right now it’s the biggest game of the year.
Click to hear Coach Gretzky:

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See ya on AZ TV!

- Todd

Finally a break for the Phoenix Coyotes. Steven Reinprecht not on the shelf for as long as originally feared. The first word was 4 to 8 weeks, but that changed this morning.  Listen in on head coach Wayne Gretzky as he discusses that and tonight’s game with the high flying Buffalo Sabres at Jobing.com Arena.

Click to hear:

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We’ll see you on AZ TV!

- Todd

The players admitted to me in game and after that for whatever reason, they came out flat on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars.  Still, I think the real reason we saw what we saw had more to do with Dallas, than the Phoenix Coyotes. They were routed by Detroit in their last game, their head coach wasn’t pleased and he let them know it.

So … off we raced to a scoreless tie after one, two and three periods. And after OT.  Goaltending was sharp at both ends.  And if not for Steven Reinprecht’s brilliant shootout goal to keep the Coyotes alive, we wouldn’t have seen Kyle Turris and his game winner.

Two points as this team hits the road. They had better make certain that these lack luster starts to games does NOT continue.  They must be aggressive on their forecheck and remember to fall in love with their team speed.  The rest will follow.

Listen as Coach Gretzky describes the game:

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It will be a grind … a true test of this team’s mental and physical make up.  And we will be there every step of the way!  See you in St. Paul on Tuesday.

- Todd

I am always impressed when a team finds a way to bounce back from a difficult defeat. Saturday night’s loss to the Wild, at home, was a difficult defeat (just listen to Wayne’s post game presser from that night!). Well, last night in Calgary the Phoenix Coyotes could have, and on most night’s, probably would have, collapsed after surrendering an early goal to the Flames. But it didn’t happen.

I asked Derek Morris afterwards why it didn’t happen, and he said, “it was the kids. They just don’t know any better.” Morris and Ed Jovanovski and Steven Reinprecht all scored their first goals of the season. Shane Doan continued his torrid pace. Ilja Bryzgalov was outstanding and Garth Murray provided some grit and fire in his first game as a Coyote.

It was an impressive game to watch. A gutsy, come from behind win on the road. The kind of win that puts hair on your chest, if you know what I mean. So it’s off the Vancouver. Gretzky has a difficult decision to make regarding young Kyle Turris who was a healthy scratch tonight. He was told he will play tomorrow in his home town. But what do you do when you are coming off a win? Do you change the lineup? Traditionally, you don’t fix something that doesn’t need to be fixed.

We’ll have the decision and the rationale behind it, when it comes down. Here’s Wayne’s post game remarks from the Saddledome:

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See you tomorrow on AZ TV and I’ll talk to you on the Coyotes Radio network starting 30 minutes before face-off.

- Todd

For me, personally, it was just good to see a solid veteran like Steven Reinprecht get back on the ice and basically have a hand in 3 goals.  He was a healthy scratch the last two games, it didn’t sit well with him, and he came back strong last night. I asked him on our post game show on Fox Sports Arizona if he had done any “soul searching” of late.  “No, because I know what I am capable of.”

Gotta love the confidence of a professional. Have to have it. If not, you are doomed. He had it last night. So did the rest of the Coyotes.  Here’s Wayne’s post game presser:

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- Todd