Leider konnte ich aus Unitechnischen Gründen zuletzt keine Updates mehr hier brignen - dies ist aber heute anders, die Woche wird nun mal aufbereitet.

Es gibt auch eininges zum Aufarbeiten. So gab es seit dem 10.12.06 insgesamt Spiele.

Im Einzelnen:

Am Montag verlor man 0:4 gegen San Jose. ESPN: [1] Boxscore [2] Recap

Am Dienstag gab es eine 2:5 Klatsche gegen Vancouver. ESPN: [3] Boxscore [4] Recap

Am Donnerstag siegte man mit 5:4 nach Verlängerung gegen Columbus (und brahc deren Siegesserie damit). ESPN: [5] Boxscore [6] Recap

Also wieder keine wirklich erfolgreiche Woche bislang, heute gegen Calgary wird es sicherlich nciht einfacher.

Es gab auch auch Teamintern einiges. So gab es gehörig Trouble um Jeremy Roenick, der zudem ankündigte am Saisonende aufhören zu wollen, David LeNeveu soll getradet werden - eine Ereignisreiche Woche also, deren komplette Aufbereitung den Rahmen wohl sprengen würde.

Hier die Artikel der Woche von AZCentral.com:

Nolan makes impact

Jim Gintonio
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2006 12:00 AM

Ever since he slipped on a pair of $10 second-hand skates as a 9-year old, Owen Nolan and hockey were a perfect fit.

So it was no surprise that Nolan, who missed the 2004 playoffs with Toronto and the next two seasons because of the lockout and a serious knee injury, opted to make a return this season, signing as a free agent with the Coyotes. “It was frustrating,” said Nolan, the No. 1 overall pick by Quebec in the 1990 draft and a 1992 All-Star Game participant. “I thought I’d be back a lot sooner, but my knee just wouldn’t get back to where I needed it to be able to play. Once you have surgery, you’re never back to 100 percent, but it feels as good as it’s gonna get. I feel no pain now.”

Nolan’s greatest moments came with San Jose. He was a team captain, a four-time All-Star and the team’s most prolific player as the all-time leader in goals (206), assists (245) and points (451), although Patrick Marleau is closing in on those marks.

But he’ll probably be most remembered for his “called shot” in the 1997 All-Star Game as part of a hat trick.

“It just felt right at the right time,” Nolan said, smiling. “It was in our home building in San Jose, so I was just having fun with it, having fun with (Dominik) Hasek (East goalie). He had my number up to that point. I said, ‘No matter what, I can’t make it any worse, so let’s have some fun.’ ”

Nolan, who will be 35 in February, captained the Sharks from 1998 to 2003. He’ll be playing at the HP Pavilion for only the second time since leaving. His first time back was in 2004 with the Maple Leafs, to whom he was traded in 2003.

“When you were young, you used to laugh at the old guys with the hot packs on every day and what not, but when you’re at that stage it’s not that funny anymore,” he said. “The older you get, it takes a little more time to heal.

“The bumps and bruises don’t go away as quick. It’s part of life, part of the game.”

Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said that some things he had heard about Nolan have never surfaced since he joined the team.

“He’s been a consummate professional here,” Gretzky said. “He has been really good in the (locker) room, kept the guys together. People told me that he could be testy and be grumpy, but he’s been nothing but positive around the room.

“He’s done a really good job killing penalties for us. He has accepted his responsibility for this team, and as I have said, one of the things about our team is when (Georges) Laraque, (Shane) Doan and Nolan show their physical presence, we’re a much better hockey club.”

Current teammate Mike Ricci, who served as captain in San Jose following Nolan’s departure, knows how difficult it is to have to be out for a long time.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” Ricci said. “It’s a credit to him to keep working and wanting to play. He’s a good man.”

Nolan said he’s excited about returning to the HP Pavilion, and he’s hoping that the fans react positively.

“I love the city,” he said. “I gave my heart, played as hard as I could there, and hopefully they respect that.”

Quelle: [7] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1211nolan1211.html

Toskala, Sharks blank Coyotes

Associated Press
Dec. 11, 2006 10:45 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Vesa Toskala stopped 23 shots for his third shutout this season, and Joe Pavelski scored for the fifth time in nine games to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night.

Milan Michalek, Steve Bernier and Curtis Brown also scored for the Sharks, who beat Phoenix at home for the first time in nearly three years.

Toskala made a handful of acrobatic stops to record his seventh career shutout and help the Sharks win at home for the seventh time in eight games.

The Coyotes, who had won two of three on the road, fell to 3-11 away from the desert.

Pavelski, who helped Wisconsin win the NCAA title last season, had a goal in his NHL debut on Nov. 22 and four in his first five games. He’s earned at least a point in six of nine games.

Phoenix, next-to-last in the NHL in penalty kills, got through the Sharks’ first two-man advantage but not the second.

Jeremy Roenick took a double minor for high-sticking Josh Gorges in front of the Sharks bench, and Zbynek Michalek - Milan’s older brother - was called for hooking less than two minutes later.

Curtis Joseph, unbeaten in six games against the Sharks last season, turned back a flurry of shots until Joe Thornton’s quick pass opened the net for Michalek’s 10th goal, a shot from the top of the crease with 1:29 left in the first period.

Thornton, who registered three assists, has a goal and seven assists in three games.

The Sharks made it 2-0 late in the second period. Taking advantage of an odd-man rush, Patrick Marleau drew coverage along the right boards and flipped a backward pass to Bernier in the slot, who sent the puck into the upper left corner of the net just moments before tripping over a teammate and sliding into the boards.

Pavelski redirected Thornton’s slap shot past Joseph on a power play to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead with 2:19 left in the second period.

Brown scored just over four minutes into the third period. Thornton used the back of the net to bounce a pass to Brown, who flipped it into the upper right corner of the net.

Notes: Marleau played in his 671st NHL game, matching Mike Rathje for the Sharks’ franchise record. … Joseph, who recorded his first career shutout against the Sharks, has 32 wins against San Jose, his most versus any team. … The Sharks outshot Phoenix 15-1 in the first 12 minutes and finished with a season-high 22 in the first period. … Thornton’s six shots in the first period matched a franchise record, done 10 previous occasions. … The Sharks last win at home against the Coyotes was Feb. 5, 2004.

Quelle: [8] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1211coyotes-ON.html

Jovanovski prepares to face former team

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

SAN JOSE - Defenseman Ed Jovanovski is “anxious” for tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, the team he played six-plus seasons for before signing with the Coyotes this past summer.

“I’m a little bit nervous,” Jovanovski said Monday. “But what it boils down to is it’s just another game.”

Jovanovski signed with Phoenix because the Canucks were facing salary-cap issues and did not offer him enough money to stay.

“I wish it had worked out,” Jovanovski said. “I really like the organization. They do everything first class. I thought at some point something was going to get done . . . but at some point, as a player, you want to be paid market value.”

The Coyotes signed Jovanovski to a five-year contract on July 1 - the first day they were allowed to - for a franchise-high $32.5 million.

Early returns on that investment were not great as Jovanovski struggled to contribute offensively. He notched just seven points in his first 19 games.

“I think Eddie would be the first to admit that the first couple of weeks were maybe a little bit more difficult than he anticipated,” coach Wayne Gretzky said. “A big part of that is because he was trying so hard and wanted to win so badly.”

Gretzky said he erred by giving Jovanovski too much ice time early in the season, so he has shaved it a bit.

“You can see the rewards in the last little while here,” Gretzky said. “He’s been better offensively because he’s got more energy to go the other way. He’s settled in nicely now and in the last 10 games he’s just been getting better every night.”

Jovanovski entered Monday’s game with nine points in his past nine games.

Jovanovski agreed he may have been trying to do too much early in the season as the Coyotes started 3-10-0.

“When a team is losing you want to be the guy to get the team going,” Jovanovski said. “(But) guys are too good in this league. Keeping it simple is a phrase you hear all the time, but it’s amazing. The less you do, the more you accomplish. That’s the way I look at it.”

Ricci plays
Gretzky inserted center Mike Ricci back into the lineup Monday against the Sharks, the team he once captained, after scratching him the past two games and three of the past four.

Ricci replaced center Patrick Fischer, who is nursing a sore groin muscle.

Ice chips
Center Steven Reinprecht accompanied the team on this two-game trip to boost his psyche as he rehabs a fractured right clavicle.

Next up for Reinprecht are X-rays on Thursday in the Valley.

• Gretzky said Mikael Tellqvist would start in goal tonight.

Tellqvist posted a 2-0-1 record and 2.21 goals-against average in his first three starts.

View from the press box
Curtis Joseph is not known for being a quote machine, but the Coyotes goalie delivered a memorable line after Monday’s morning skate worth noting in this forum. Asked how he was feeling after being hit by a flying puck in the right ear during a recent practice, Joseph said he was OK, but that his ability to hear clearly had been affected. After describing exactly how at length, Joseph paused and then cracked: “But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so I should be OK for the game.”
—David Vest

Coyotes report
Cheers
Goalie Curtis Joseph kept Phoenix close, for a while, by stopping San Jose’s first 21 shots.

Jeers
Coyotes center Jeremy Roenick committed a four-minute high-sticking penalty in the first period that San Jose parlayed into a goal and a lead that it never surrendered.

Our three stars
1. Joe Thornton, Sharks, three assists.
2. Patrick Marleau, Sharks, three assists.
3. Vesa Toskala, Sharks, 23 saves.

Quelle: [9] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1212yotesnotes1212.html

Cujo keeps busy in Coyotes loss

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

SAN JOSE - Curtis Joseph entered Monday’s game against San Jose with a ringing sound in his head, and by the time the first intermission rolled around, he likely had a tired neck, too.

The Sharks peppered the Coyotes goalie with 22 shots from all over the ice in the first period en route to a 4-0 victory at HP Pavilion, San Jose’s first triumph over the Coyotes on its home ice in the coach Wayne Gretzky era.

Joseph, who played the entire game despite suffering lingering effects from getting hit in the right ear by a teammate’s shot during practice Saturday, remained two victories shy of tying Jacques Plante for fifth place on the NHL’s list for all-time victories (437). He finished with 30 saves.

The shutout loss was Phoenix’s sixth in its first 29 games.

Mike Comrie had Phoenix’s best scoring chance, but San Jose goalie Vesa Toskala gloved Comrie’s shot from in close while planted on his backside.

The Coyotes, like they did Saturday vs. Dallas, committed five penalties in the first 20 minutes and twice had to defend five-on-three disadvantages.

San Jose forward Milan Michalek made them pay on the latter when he beat Joseph with a shot from the slot with 1:29 left for a 1-0 lead.

“Curtis was outstanding in the first period and we gave ourselves a chance to get back into the game,” Gretzky said. “But the reality was we had too many guys that didn’t play at the level we need to play at to compete against a good team such as the Sharks.”

Quelle: [10] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1212coyotes1212.html

1st period haunts ‘Yotes

Associated Press
Dec. 12, 2006 10:40 PM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Kevin Bieksa and Jan Bulis scored 51 seconds apart midway through a four-goal first period, sparking the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Brendan Morrison and Mattias Ohlund also scored in the opening period for the Canucks, who scored 12 goals in three games after netting only five in the previous six contests.

Ryan Kesler added a goal in the second period, and Roberto Luongo made 28 saves as Vancouver extended its lose-one, win-one streak to eight games.

Oleg Saprykin and Dave Scatchard, on a breakaway with 38 seconds left, scored for the Coyotes, who lost on consecutive nights by a combined 9-2 to fall to an NHL-worst 3-12 on the road.

Quelle: [11] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1212coyotes-ON.html

‘Yotes fail ‘to show up’ again

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 13, 2006 12:00 AM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Most of Tuesday felt like it was “Ed Jovanovski Day” in this hockey hotbed as the longtime Canucks defenseman returned to play against his former team for the first time since signing with the Coyotes over the summer.

Before the game started, Jovanovski was the center of attention with the local media.

After the game started, Vancouver’s struggling offense stole the spotlight.

The Canucks, who entered their 31st game with the NHL’s lowest goals-per-game-average (2.17), scored four against Coyotes backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist in the first period, then coasted to a 5-2 victory at General Motors Place.

Five Canucks scored goals.

That corner the Coyotes seemingly turned when they won four of five games has led them into a brick wall; Tuesday’s defeat was their third in the past four nights.

“We didn’t deserve to win,” coach Wayne Gretzky said.

“They were better than we were. Again, we need more guys to show up. It’s as simple as that.”

Gretzky replaced Tellqvist, who allowed just seven goals in his first three games for Phoenix, with Curtis Joseph after 20 minutes, then replaced Joseph with Tellqvist at the start of the third period because Joseph suffered a minor leg injury.

As for Jovanovski, some fans booed him when he touched the puck, others cheered him.

“There was a pretty good response from most of the fans, and I appreciate that,” Jovanovski said after Phoenix’s embarrassing effort in his homecoming. “The other ones, whatever.”

The spectators cheered in unison when the final horn sounded,

Coyotes report
Cheers
Oleg Saprykin spoiled Vancouver’s bid for a shutout when he scored his seventh goal midway through the second period.

Jeers
Coyotes goalie Mikael Tellqvist gave up an extremely soft goal at 11:52 of the first period that gave Vancouver a 2-0 lead, and the rout was on.

Our three stars
1. Kevin Bieksa, Canucks, goal, assist.
2. Daniel Sedin, Canucks, 2 assists.
3. Henrik Sedin, Canucks, 2 assists.

View from the press box
The new scoreboard hovering over center ice inside General Motors GM Place is a beast. And it’s an expensive beast at that. Sources say the massive piece of equipment cost about $4.3 million. Given the Winter Olympics are coming to Vancouver in 2010, it seems like a sensible investment. But, as one Canucks reporter put it before the game, it’s too bad for Vancouver fans that the scoreboard is much more entertaining to look at than their low-scoring hockey team.

Quelle: [12] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1213coyotes1213.html

Roenick angered by scratch

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 13, 2006 02:19 AM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Coach Wayne Gretzky scratched center Jeremy Roenick from Tuesday’s game because of “back spasms.”

Roenick, who Gretzky said, spoke of back pain on the team flight after Monday’s game vs. San Jose, did not like Gretzky’s decision to bench him and abruptly left General Motors Place upon hearing the news a few hours before the game.

Roenick was not spotted in or around the Coyotes dressing room during the game, nor was he in it afterwards. “I just didn’t want to play a guy that was injured,” Gretzky said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Gretzky also said he was not aware of Roenick’s whereabouts during the game, nor did Gretzky seem to think it was a big deal.

Roenick, who is frustrated that he has only scored one goal in 28 games, also was angry when Gretzky scratched him on Nov. 30 because of an upper respiratory illness.

Familiar face
Coyotes players, coaches and staff members got to see an old acquaintance standing behind Vancouver’s bench Tuesday.

Rick Bowness, who served on Phoenix’s coaching staff for seven seasons, is in his first season as an associate coach with the Canucks.

“I love being back in Canada and that we have a real passionate following for the team,” Bowness said. “The pulse of this city revolves around this team. That’s nice to be around.”

Bowness is likely best remembered in Phoenix for the 20 games he served as interim head coach at the end of the 2003-04 season after Bob Francis was fired. The Coyotes won just two of those games.

Bowness also is remembered for being the team’s head coach during the NHL lockout and for eventually being replaced by Gretzky once Gretzky decided to give coaching a try in August 2005.

Gretzky kept Bowness on his staff for a season, but Bowness spent most of last year as the third associate coach behind Rick Tocchet and Barry Smith, and watched games from the press box instead of from behind the bench.

Asked if that bothered him, Bowness took the high road before Tuesday’s game.

“I missed being behind the bench,” Bowness said. “That’s about all I will say about that. I love that part of it.” Bowness added he has no hard feelings toward the Coyotes organization, and that he wishes his former team success.

“I would love to see Phoenix make the playoffs, but not ahead of us,” Bowness said. “In a perfect world, we’d both make the playoffs.”

Quelle: [13] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1213nucoytesnb1213.html

Roenick facing more than on-ice woes

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 14, 2006 12:00 AM

One goal and five assists in 28 games is not what Jeremy Roenick or the Coyotes had in mind when he signed a one-year contract worth $1.2 million to return to Phoenix in July.

But that’s been Roenick’s offensive contribution to the last-place Coyotes thus far.

Roenick, who ranks 10th on the franchise’s all-time goals list with 142, is in coach Wayne Gretzky’s doghouse because he bolted General Motors Place in Vancouver, for at least part of Tuesday’s game, after being scratched from the lineup because of a minor back injury.

There is no NHL rule that states a scratched player must stay at the arena in which the game is being played, and the Coyotes don’t have a team rule to that effect.

But multiple sources with the Coyotes, including Gretzky, said there is an unwritten rule among players that scratched players stay at the arena for the entire game out of respect for their teammates.

Roenick said he never heard of that unwritten rule.

“I was there, I was ready to play and I wished all my guys luck,” Roenick said. “I was in the locker room with them. I said, ‘Let’s go, let’s get ‘em’ . . . I was a rah-rah again, like I’ve been all year. I don’t think people should chastise me because I went to have dinner . . . It bothers me how the media is trying to create a stir or a controversy over nothing.”

Gretzky benched Roenick for tonight’s game against Columbus.

Asked on Wednesday when Roenick would play again, Gretzky said: “I’m not sure right now.”

Gretzky plans to speak to Roenick about the situation this morning.

Although several options may be presented to Roenick, Gretzky said he would not nudge Roenick, 36, toward retirement like he did Brett Hull last season.

Roenick has been thinking more and more about retirement lately, but vowed Wednesday to finish the season.

“I don’t agree with everything (that happened Tuesday), which is my prerogative, but I’m not going to retire in the middle of the year and quit on anybody,” he said.

Roenick wasn’t expected to be the elite scorer he was when he played for the Coyotes from 1996-2001.

But he was expected to chip in about 20 to 25 goals.

“I can’t control whether the puck goes in the net or not, or whether other guys put the puck in the net or not,” Roenick said. “Offensively, it’s been a struggle. But I think I’ve been skating as good as I have in years. I feel really strong in the skating aspect.”

Ice chips
Center Patrick Fischer aggravated a nagging mid-section injury during Tuesday’s game, and Gretzky said he could be sidelined until after Christmas.

• Goalie Curtis Joseph suffered a minor leg injury Tuesday and will not start tonight’s game.

• Mike Ricci, who has been a healthy scratch four of the past six games, will play tonight in Roenick’s place.

Quelle: [14] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1214coyotesnb1214.html

‘Yotes might be done with Roenick

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 14, 2006 12:12 AM

The Coyotes might be finished with Jeremy Roenick.

Coach Wayne Gretzky said Roenick would not play in tonight’s game, and possibly more, because Roenick left General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday after learning he’d been scratched from the lineup because of a back injury a few hours before Phoenix’s 5-2 defeat.

Roenick said he watched at least part of the game while eating dinner in a restaurant in Vancouver, and he was not seen in the Coyotes dressing room after the game.

“I treat players like men and they should act like men,” Gretzky said Wednesday. “JR, all and all, has been pretty positive. But the reality is, last night he made a mistake. … There will be ramifications for what happened.”

Gretzky plans to inform Roenick he will be benched this morning and discuss his future with the team.

Asked when Roenick would be back in the lineup, Gretzky said: “I’m not sure right now.”

Meanwhile, Roenick on Wednesday said he felt he was healthy enough to play on Tuesday and that he left the arena because he did not want to face the media about being scratched. He also said he respected Gretzky’s decision, but that he did not regret leaving.

“I was at the game for part of the game and then I went for dinner,” Roenick said. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with going and having a nice dinner, having a beer and watching the hockey game. I don’t know why everybody is trying to create a stir or create a controversy.”

Roenick, whom Phoenix signed to a one-year contract worth $1.2 million in July, has scored just one goal in 28 games this season and his plus/minus ratio is -9.

Gretzky said center Mike Ricci would replace Roenick in the lineup tonight vs. Columbus at Jobing.com Arena as the Coyotes attempt to snap a three-game losing streak.

Quelle: [15] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1214roenick-ON-CR.html

‘Yotes end Columbus’ streak in SO

Associated Press
Dec. 14, 2006 10:12 PM

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Mike Comrie scored on the final attempt of the shootout to lift the Phoenix Coyotes to a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

Fredrik Norrena appeared to make the initial save on Comrie’s low shot, but the puck trickled between his pads for the lone goal of the tiebreaker.

Mikael Tellqvist made 21 saves in regulation and stopped all three shootout attempts for the Coyotes, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Comrie and Ed Jovanovski each had a goal and an assist, and Owen Nolan and Derek Morris also scored for the Coyotes, 3-0 in shootouts this season.

Rick Nash had a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets. Sergei Fedorov, Anson Carter and David Vyborny also scored for Columbus, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

Quelle: [16] http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1214coyotesgamer-ON.html

Und noch ein Artikel über JR von ESPN.com:

Jeremy Roenick has always existed in that gray area between emotional and infantile. Now, with his long and vocal career stuttering to an end in Phoenix, the tilt is definitely toward the infantile.

After Roenick, who is suffering from back spasms, was told by Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky that he would be scratched for Tuesday’s game in Vancouver, Roenick apparently left GM Place, had a beer and some dinner, and did not meet with the media after the game.

Worse than his defying protocol and leaving his team and teammates, Roenick appears to see nothing wrong with what he did, telling The Arizona Republic’s David Vest, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with going and having a nice dinner, having a beer and watching the hockey game. I don’t know why everybody is trying to create a stir or create a controversy.”

Roenick, who was a self-proclaimed embarrassment last season in Los Angeles, has been treated exceptionally well by the Coyotes this season, especially given that Roenick’s hands have deserted him and he has been reduced to a third-line checker and member of the team’s second power-play unit.

Although it was imagined he might make a significant contribution to the team’s offense when he was signed as a free agent in the offseason, Roenick has six points and is minus-9 in 28 games.

A source familiar with the situation told ESPN.com that part of the problem is that Roenick wants to play when he’s hurt, something he has done throughout his 1,210-game career. But he can’t contribute that way, and Gretzky wants a healthy Roenick in the lineup or no Roenick at all. The source said that point was reiterated to Roenick during a Thursday meeting with team brass and J.R. has told the team he will toe the company line. He also accepted another benching Thursday, a message from Gretzky for Roenick’s dinner outing. Roenick is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday night vs. Calgary.

One would think that if Roenick can’t act right for Gretzky, then his act has worn itself out. As for anyone thinking Roenick might be attractive to a contending team looking to add some depth come the trade deadline in late February, these are the kinds of stunts that make GMs put their phones down for good.

Quelle: [17] http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?page=notebook_1215

Und aktuelles von der East Valley Tribune:

Roenick says he’ll retire at end of season 

By Matt Paulson, Tribune
December 13, 2006
Jeremy Roenick can see the sun is quickly approaching its setting point on his long, illustrious, controversial and always entertaining career. “End of the (NHL) year, absolutely (I’ll retire),” Roenick said Wednesday at the airport in Vancouver before the Coyotes headed home following their 0-2 road trip.

“The way it seems to be going right now, I don’t think anybody would want to give me another chance to tell you the truth.”

After Roenick stormed out of General Motors Place before Tuesday’s game upon learning he would be scratched due to back spasms, he could be out of chances with the Coyotes as well.

“I think reality is (Tuesday) night he made a mistake,” said coach Wayne Gretzky, who announced he is holding Roenick out of tonight’s game in favor of Mike Ricci.

“I’m not disappointed with him because J.R. is a very emotional young man, and he’s a good person, but what he did last night wasn’t right.”

Gretzky wouldn’t call his decision a punishment for Roenick, but added, “There will be ramifications for what happened.”

Asked when Roenick might play again, if ever, Gretzky said, “I don’t know, but it won’t be (to)night. I’ve got one of two guys to put in: him or Mike Ricci. I’m going to put Ricci in.”

Ricci, 35, like Roenick, is in the twilight of his career. He has been a healthy scratch in four of the past six games but has continued to work hard in practice and hasn’t complained about his diminished role.

“I think I would lose respect from my players if I played one guy over the other. I really do,” said Gretzky, who plans to sit down with Roenick this morning.

Roenick, 36 and in his 18th season, started suffering back spasms in the second period of Monday’s game. After receiving treatment Tuesday morning, Roenick said he felt good enough to play, but Gretzky opted to rest him.

“He was legitimately hurt,” the coach said. “He could hardly get through the game in San Jose. If he were 21 years old and had 25 goals, then yeah, you throw him in the lineup. Reality is — and nobody likes to face it — he’s not 21 years old and he doesn’t have 30 goals right now, so I was giving him a break and a night off to rest his back, to regroup and come back.”

Roenick, who has been on his best behavior all season and “unreal” in the locker room, Gretzky said, is averaging 15:24 of ice time in 28 games but has just one goal, five assists and is a minus-9.

“They told me to take the night off, so I did,” said Roenick, who said he ended up at a local restaurant. “… Was I angry? Was I disappointed? Absolutely.…
“(But) I don’t think there’s anything wrong with going and having a nice dinner, having a beer and watching a hockey game.”

After dinner, Roenick said he returned to the rink for a time but left before he could be spotted by the media.

“I kept myself where I wasn’t going to get myself into any trouble,” he said.
Nobody from the Coyotes knew of his whereabouts during the game, and Gretzky said Roenick broke the unwritten rule that states players who aren’t playing stay for the game.

Roenick said he was unfamiliar with the rule.

“What, do you give your support from the press box? Give support with pom-poms from the press box?” said Roenick, who also voiced displeasure when he was scratched Nov. 30 against Los Angeles because he had missed the previous three days of practice due to an upper respiratory illness.

“We’re not allowed to go into the locker room in between periods and tell the guys what they’re doing wrong or cheer the guys on. We’re not allowed to be around the guys during game action.…

“There’s nothing that a player that’s not playing can do. If anything, they want players that are not playing away because it’s a distraction.”

But by leaving, that is exactly what Roenick’s bruised ego led him to become.

“Obviously I’m a proud guy,” he said. “I’ve worked my ass off this year. Obviously I can’t get a break to save my life offensively. I feel I’ve worked hard, and I will continue to work hard. So it frustrates me when you want to play, and you think you can play, but you don’t play.”

When he plays again remains to be seen. Roenick said with the exception of his point production and the team’s record (11-18-1), he is pleased with his play and happy to be in Phoenix, so “I’m not going to retire in the middle of the year and quit on anybody.”

Nor are the Coyotes planning to push him out.

“I’m never going to tell him to do anything (regarding his career),” Gretzky said. “I have too much respect for what he’s done for the game and how much he loves the game.”

For now, Roenick might just have to watch his beloved game from inside the rink.

Quelle: [18] http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=80575

Roenick, Gretzky meeting clears air 

By Matt Paulson, Tribune
December 14, 2006
Jeremy Roenick is back in the Coyotes’ good graces. And he’ll be back in the lineup starting Saturday.

Roenick and coach Wayne Gretzky “cleared the air” Thursday morning during a 20-minute meeting which also involved Roenick’s agent and a few others from the Coyotes’ front office.

“We talked about obviously the past few days and then moving forward here,” said Gretzky, who held Roenick out of Thursday’s game as a “ramification” of his decision to leave General Motors Place in Vancouver on Tuesday upon learning he would be scratched due to his back spasms.

“I kind of understood where he was coming from in a sense that he’s got a lot of pride, cares about playing and still wanted to be part of the team and playing every night. We just explained to him the team’s position in that he was hurt, and it was a good night to rest him.…

“Moving forward here, it’s pretty much status quo.”

Roenick, who watched part of Tuesday’s game from a restaurant before returning to the rink, said he was happy with the meeting.

“It was a good heart to heart,” he said. “I think both sides know where each other stands. That’s the way it should be.”

Roenick took issue with the media’s coverage of events, referring to them as “vultures” for “nitpicking at stupid (expletive) things like they always do.…

“As much as people want to say I left the team, I went to (expletive) have dinner. Wake up.”

But the one-time go-to scorer, who has just one goal and five assists in 28 games this season, later acknowledged, “As you get older you have to accept different roles and responsibilities” and that the most important thing is “I’ve been committed to this team since the beginning. It doesn’t matter whether I play, whether I don’t play.”

The fallout from Tuesday’s events produced a much larger media gathering than normal for a morning skate, but captain Shane Doan said he didn’t see all the extra attention as a distraction.

“It’s different circumstances because it is J.R.… But you know what? It’s really nothing,” he said. “It’s not a big deal amongst the guys.”

After Gretzky said Wednesday he didn’t know when he would play his aging superstar again, there was speculation that the 36-year-old’s days with the club were numbered. However, Gretzky said Thursday Roenick would “for sure” be in Saturday’s lineup and added he hoped Roenick would stay with the Coyotes after his playing days.

“As I said to him, down the road here we’d love to have him part of our organization,” he said.

Quelle: [19] http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=80641

Coyotes stop Blue Jackets in shootout victory 

By Mike Tulumello, Tribune
December 14, 2006
In looking at the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Coyotes would like to see themselves. The Blue Jackets were among the NHL’s bottom-feeding teams in the season’s first few weeks. Now they’re among the game’s hottest teams.

That’s one reason the Coyotes’ 5-4 shootout win Thursday night over the Blue Jackets at Jobing.com Arena was so big.

Not only did they break the Jackets’ five-game winning streak, they got their crucial four-game homestand off to the necessary start.

Coyotes executive Cliff Fletcher had suggested this week that the Coyotes, 12-18-1, needed to get seven points of the possible eight to give themselves a realistic shot at staying in the playoff race.

The Coyotes won the shootout when — after five straight skaters failed to score _ Jacket goalie Fredrik Norrena partially stopped Mike Comrie’s shot only to have the puck slide over the goal line.

“Barely,” said coach Wayne Gretzky, noting the puck didn’t even hit the back of the net.

“We got lucky.”

Comrie said, “I just tried to get him to move a little bit.… left to right. It didn’t go in clean, but it trickled past the line.”

A loss would have been a near disaster, particularly in the way they lost a 4-2 lead in the second period.

The Coyotes nearly came undone after they gave up a short-handed goal.

Superstar Sergei Federov scored on a breakaway when the Coyotes’ Ed Jovanovski got caught too far up the ice.

That cut the Coyotes’ lead to 4-3.

Moments later, the Blue Jackets tied it when David Vyborny knocked home a goal from out front.

“We’re a little disappointed in the short-handed goal,” Gretzky said. “It gave them a little momentum.

“But otherwise, our special teams were pretty good.”

A loss “would have been very tough,” captain Shane Doan said. “But you have to give them credit for battling back.”

In the shootout, the Jackets’ Vyborny, Rick Nash and Federov couldn’t solve goaltender Mikael Tellqvist. The Coyotes’ Yanic Perreault and Mike Zigomanis also failed to score.

Tellqvist also came up with a huge glove save in overtime on a shot in front by Alexander Svitov.

“Goaltending comes down to make key saves at opportune times,” Gretzky said. “And that’s what Tellqvist did tonight.”

But the truth be told, on the amazing overtime save, Tellqvist admitted Lady Luck was in the net with him.

“I hate to say it, but I was out of position. Fortunately, it went in my glove.

“It looked good but it was more luck than anything.”

The teams were tied 1-1 heading into the second period when the Coyotes’ Owen Nolan scored his 150th career point on a short-handed goal.

After the Jackets’ Rick Nash tied the game 2-2, Mike Comrie broke the tie on a rebound of a Ladislav Nagy shot, then Jovanovski grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and scored to give the Coyotes their 4-2 lead.

But it disappeared quickly.

JONES CALLED UP

The Coyotes recalled defenseman Matt Jones from San Antonio.

Jones, now in his second stint with the club, played 19 minutes. Previously he had a goal and two assists in 10 games.

The move means the Coyotes will carry defensemen “and see what happens,” Gretzky said.

“We wanted to bring Matt back,” Gretzky said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Asked if this move is a wake-up call for somebody, he said. “No. I just think it will be good for our team that he’s here.”

Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg was healthy scratch.

LOOSE PUCKS

Suns guard Steve Nash took in the game along with his parents.… The Jackets were 0 for 5 on the power play; the Coyotes were 2 for 9.

Quelle: [20] http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=80637

Nolan starting to show flashes of past form 
By Matt Paulson, Tribune
December 16, 2006
At only 34, Owen Nolan is already sporting a gray beard. After he spent two years away from the NHL due to two major knee surgeries, there were those who thought he would play like a graybeard upon his return as well.

But after a slow start to this season – two points in the first nine games – the Coyotes right winger has picked up his production of late and erased any doubts he still belongs in the NHL.

While he’s not the same force he was during his peak in San Jose, where he once registered a 44-goal, 84-point season, Nolan still plays with much of the same aggressiveness and grit that helped make him a five-time All-Star.

“He plays hard, and he’s still a great goal scorer, the same as he was before,” said center Mike Ricci, also a teammate of Nolan’s for four seasons in Quebec/Colorado and six in San Jose.

Nolan has been asked to take on more of defensive role. “He’s been one of our most reliable penalty killers,” Phoenix coach Wayne Gretzky said – but is starting to become a regular contributor on the offensive end with eight points in the last 14 games.

That has quietly put him on pace for 19 goals and 40 points. Not bad considering he averaged 25 goals and 51 points during his previous seven seasons.

“He’s quite an amazing story because nobody anticipated the level of play he’d be playing at,” Gretzky said.

Nolan, though, said it’s too early to call his return a success.

“I’m still not at the level I want to be at, and I feel I can still achieve that,” he said.

“There was definitely some rust there. I think I’m coming out of it as of the last couple weeks. The opportunities are there. I’m finding my timing is getting a lot better. Hopefully, I’ll get hot here and get on a roll.”

Nolan’s accuracy and laser-like shot have returned as well. He displayed both Thursday when he drove down the right side on a short-handed breakaway, then beat Columbus goalie Fredrik Norrena high with a blast from just inside the blue line.

“That’s his patented move,” said goalie Mikael Tellqvist, who also played with him in Toronto. “I think he’s done that in San Jose hundreds and hundreds of times. He did that in Toronto, too. It’s hard to stop that shot because it’s really hard and really accurate.”

“As he gets more confidence, he’ll let that shot go more,” Ricci added.

Nolan said it was a relief to finally score from that spot on the ice.

“I’ve had a couple down the wing this season already (which were) nowhere close to scoring, so it was nice to see that one go in,” he said.

The goal was the 750th point of his 15-year career.

“I guess if you play long enough, you’ll get that mark,” Nolan said with a chuckle.

If he continues to perform as he has of late, Nolan is sure to hit a few more marks as well.

Flames at Coyotes
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: Jobjing.com Arena
TV: None
Radio: KDUS (1060 AM)
Records: Calgary 15-11-3, Phoenix 12-18-1
Line: Calgary 125-145
Series history: Phoenix dropped the season’s first meeting 6-1 on Oct. 24, trails 59-67-20-0 all time but is 35-26-11-0 at home.

Scouting report: Flames – Like the Coyotes, Calgary has been a Jekylland-Hyde team, great at home (10 straight wins) but awful on the road, where it has lost its past five. Forward Jerome Iginla is tied for fifth in the league in goals with 18 and also has 19 assists. Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff is tied for first in the NHL in shutouts (four) and is third in goals-against average (2.08) and save percentage (.928). Defenseman Rhett Warrener (leg) is day-to-day and forwards Marcus Nilson (knee) and Stephane Yelle (broken leg) are sidelined indefinitely.

Coyotes – Phoenix has earned 13 of a possible 14 points over its last seven home games, and with four of the next six at Jobing.com Arena, can make up some ground in the standings if it can continue that trend. With Thursday’s 5-4 victory over Columbus, the Coyotes sport the league’s best record (3-0) in shootouts. Goalie Curtis Joseph (groin) practiced Friday but still isn’t 100 percent, so Mikael Tellqvist will make his third straight start. Patrick Fischer (groin) isn’t expected back until after Christmas.

Quelle: [21] http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=80698

Und zu guter letzt gibt es dann noch den Game Day Thread von HFBoards [22] hier.