Not many people are talking about it, but with his 54-save, 2-0 win Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night, Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout.
Even less people are talking about the guy who helped mold Smith into the goaltender he is today.
His name may not come up in headlines or round-table discussions, but Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke deserves a ton of praise for the work he has done with Smith. Burke, an 18-year NHL veteran between the pipes, took over for Grant Fuhr at the end of the 2008-09 season. It’s no coincidence that the first season he took over as goaltending coach marked the first season that Phoenix made the playoffs since 2001-02.
It’s hard to believe that with just a little over two weeks left in the season, mathematically, there are still 14 of 15 teams in the West that can qualify for the playoffs (sorry, Columbus). With that being said, Edmonton doesn’t really have a prayer, neither does Minnesota. Anaheim, currently nine points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, is a long shot, but they would need a miracle contingent on several various factors going their way in order to still be playing hockey in April.
Essentially, that leaves five teams—all currently separated by three points—battling for two playoff spots. And at this point, nobody is willing to give an inch.
Mike Smith’s road to the NHL has been a long and arduous one, full of bumps and potholes along the way. And detours, too.
It was actually around this time last year that Smith was living in Virginia, playing with the American Hockey League’s Norfolk Admirals. After a disappointing start to the 2010-11 season between the pipes for the Tampa Bay Lighting, Smith unexpectedly found himself at No. 3 on the depth chart behind Dwayne Roloson and Dan Ellis.
Luckily for Smith, when free agency rolled around in the offseason, the Phoenix Coyotes came knocking.
Jeremy Roenick, one of the most colorful and charismatic players in NHL history, entered the Coyotes‘ Ring of Honor on Saturday.
The Coyotes put together a great montage of classic JR moments and testimonials from former teammates expressing their appreciation for one of the greatest US-born players in NHL history. Roenick was also given several gifts, including the special mask attachment he wore to protect his broken jaw in Game 7 of the postseason series against the St. Louis Blues.
Roenick also excited the standing-room only crowd at Jobing.com arena by commenting on the future of the franchise.
The Phoenix Coyotes are 6-2-2 over their last 10 games, but it doesn’t matter. Heck, even if they were able to keep putting W’s in the win column to make the playoffs, muster some Cinderella magic to ride through the postseason and complete an improbable run by winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, it still wouldn’t matter.
As it stands right now, all signs point to the Coyotes leaving the desert for good at the end of this season.
Kyle Turris’ contract standoff with the Phoenix Coyotes is officially over.
If you are like almost every other hockey fan in the country, you are probably asking yourself, “Who is Kyle Turris?”
Well, for starters, he’s definitely a guy who was in no position to demand to be traded prior to the start of the 2011-12 season. Turris, 22, scored 11 goals and 14 assists in a career-high 65 games for the Coyotes in 2010-11. In three seasons with the Coyotes, Turris has 19 goals, 27 assists and 39 penalty minutes in 131 games. It should also be noted that prior to his demand to be traded, this is the same guy who wanted to be paid $4 million a season.
Although the majority of the focus of the young 2011-12 NHL season thus far has been on Brendan Shanahan and all of the suspensions that have come from illegal hits to the head, it is only a matter of time before the focus shifts to Gary Bettman and the growing number of empty seats in NHL arenas around the country.
The Phoenix Coyotes were once again a surprise team in 2010-11. The team did not appear in the top 10 in any major League categories and featured just a single player among the league’s top 50 scorers—Shane Doan ranked 49th with 60 points—but the Coyotes still posted an impressive 99 points.
However, despite their surprising success during the regular season, the Coyotes were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season by the Detroit Red Wings.
With the Philadelphia Flyers signing of Ilya Bryzgalov to a huge nine-year, $51 million contract, it’s important to keep in mind that there are still plenty of talented goaltenders available on the free-agent market. Here are the top five.
1. Tomas Vokoun
It’s no secret that Vokoun wants out of Florida. The 35-year-old netminder is nearing the end of his career and he seems pretty hellbent on only playing for a contender. He has already been offered a deal from Avangard Omsk of the KHL over in Russia, so unless a Cup contender comes to the table (ahem, the Washington Capitals), we may have seen the last of Vokoun in the NHL.
I am happy to announce a new promotion here at Hockey Tickets Online. Beginning in October 2011, we will giving away way two tickets each month to a regular season NHL game.
To enter, simply leave your name and email address below. Once you are entered into the contest, your will be eligible to win tickets every month.
Congratulations to Eric who is our October ticket winner. Eric gets two tickets to the Panthers v Penguins game in November.
Not many people are talking about it, but with his 54-save, 2-0 win Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night, Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout.
