Proud to be a Coyotes fan

Why? Because we earned the win with our play last night, just got unlucky on some shots our way. There were mistakes, yes, but no more than from them.

Let's just take a look at these two teams for a minute. The Boston Bruins (I won't even go on about how much I hate them) are the defending Stanley Cup champions, coming off of an 8-0 victory over Florida, and a leading +57 goal differential.

And we've all heard the same old song about our team: the Yotes suck, they're a second-rate team, Phoenix doesn't even deserve a hockey club.

Well in front of a sellout crowd, the largest this building has ever seen, this second-rate, terrible team of ours prevented the mighty Bruins from scoring for over 59 minutes. And yeah, that's without Smith, and "LOLBarbera" in net, and no Hanzal, or Gordon, or Aucoin.

And while holding them off, we sneak a goal by one of the best defensemen in the league. Looks like Big Bad Zdeno Chara is a little too tall for his own good, line of sight kept him from seeing this little beauty skate by. And by "beauty" I of course mean Whitney. The goal was nice too.


Rozsival and Bissonnette also had big games tonight. Rosey decided to be a defensive demi-god that evening, taking pucks away and protecting the house. Boston didn't get a lot of quality chances with him on the ice. Meanwhile Biznasty made sure they bled if they ever wanted to touch the puck. The guy had some huge hits, earned some ice time, and really helped our team out in a big way.

LaBarbera pulled himself up, dusted himself off, and had an amazing game tonight. Their first goal within the first few seconds of the game was unlucky, screened and had a lot to do with a defensive breakdown on our end. The second was a bad deflection off of one of our guys. Most importantly: their two goals came 59:15 apart.

Miele still needs some seasoning to get used to Tippett's defensive game, but I was happy to see him not intimidated by this Bruins team. Honestly? I'd like to see more of Rundblad. Morris always seems to be on ice when we're scored on in crunch-time situations. Our offense and power play always needs some work, and it's no different now.

But you know what? I am happy with my boys. Proud of them. We faced this monster of a team and showed them that we aren't afraid. We aren't a second-rate team. We can compete with the best of them, and if the best of them wants to win, they're going to have to fight for it and bleed.

So, in summary,

LET'S GO, COYOTES!

Team USA: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Cup

After a ridiculous late-night conversation with my friend at Hockey Yelling, we decided it would be a great idea to make a hockey team of US Presidents. See the results here. Enjoy, and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

1st Line

 

2nd Line

3rd Line

 

4th Line

 

DP 1

DP 2

DP 3

Backup Goalie

Head Coach

Home, away, and alternate

In light of the holiday season, I've finally decided just who I want on my next jerseys, one of each flavor.

Home:

#41 Mike Smith

Reasons: I love him. Neuvirth might look just like a cat but Smith moves like one.

Beyond that and probably much more importantly, although a newcomer to the team, Mike Smith embodies the very spirit of this franchise. We're expected to fail, plain and simple, destined by critics to end up at the bottom of the pile, and eventually in Winnipeg/Quebec/KC/Portland/Las Vegas.

EXHIBIT A

Ol' Schmitty probably got the worst of such cynicism during the off-season, what with the shoes he's supposed to fill. No one expected anything of him except failure, and he's disappointed them all. He's sitting pretty at fifth for wins in the league, tied with the likes of Lehtonen and Thomas.

I never thought I'd be so happy to have a netminder who clearly isn't starting-goalie material.

Away:
# 16 Rusty Klesla

 Reasons: HE IS A WARRIOR. But seriously, this guy deserves way more attention than he gets. No, he is not a superstar offensive-defensemen, and he doesn't get into a lot of fights, and he doesn't have an infamous twitter account. He does manage to keep in perfect position while out on the ice, he does finish his checks and never gets hypnotized puck-watching. He's turned out to be an incredible asset to us as a shutdown defensemen, and makes sure that the opposition barely has enough room to breathe if they want to play in our zone.

As far as I'm concerned, Kles is one of the most reliable guys on the team. He works hard, he does what's expected of him, he is unselfish and yet pounces on any opportunity that comes to him to make a play. 

Definitely Coyotes material, and absolutely worthy of more recognition than he gets.

Alternate:
# 19 Shane Doan

Reasons: Captain, my captain. Shane Doan is the Phoenix Coyotes. Angry Doan is terrifying and entertaining to watch as he human-wreckingballs around the rink. But beyond his on-ice amazingness, Shane Doan might be one of the best human beings on the planet.

There isn't enough to be said about him that hasn't been said a million times over. There are few better examples of leadership, determination, and resiliency than this man. The team respects him, the fans love him, and I would follow him to Hell and back. May he carry us to that Stanley Cup he so deserves.

Wildcard!

# 28 Lauri Korpikoski

Reasons: Can we all just agree on how fun this kid is to watch? He is FAST, he makes goals and adorable Christmas card versions of himself.

Mark my words, world, once he improves his stickhandling a bit more, the Korpedo will be tearing through the NHL. I will patiently await my triumph of "I TOLD YOU SO", and for now relish the gems he gives us when he smokes the opposition Wally West style.