NHL: Seltsamer Treffer führt zur Niederlage

10.12.2006 von Coyote.

Sie kämpften sich zurück nach einem 0:2 und 1:3 Rückstand, lieferten Dallas endlich ein ausgeglichenes Spiel, Mike Comrie feierte sein Comeback und Mikael Tellqvist sicherte 40 Schüsse. Trotzdem stand es am Ende 4:3 für Dallas - aber erst nach Verlängerung, d.h. immerhin einen Punkt gegen Dallas geholt.

Mike Comire erzielte bei seinem Comeback einen Assist, die Tore für Phoenix erzielten Jovanovski, Nolan und Zigomanis. Die Niederlage besiegelte Jere Lehtinen mit einem doch recht setsamen Treffer wie man den Artikeln entnehmen kann. Schade, aber an Niederlagen gegen Dallas gewöhnt man sich so langsam.

ESPN: Boxscore Recap

Das schreibt AZCentral.com:

Comrie eager to play
Center set to return from 5-week absence

Jim Gintonio and David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 9, 2006 12:00 AM

Days turned into weeks - and they seemed like months to Mike Comrie.

The Coyotes center, out 14 games with a fractured right foot, is expected to return tonight as his team tries to solve the mystery of the Dallas Stars, against whom they are 0-3 this season without a goal.

“I’m glad to be skating again,” Comrie said Friday. “It’s been a long five weeks.”

Comrie has been skating hard since he got the OK to return to the ice. He says he feels good but can’t make a final determination on how things are going until he gets into a game. He said he and coach Wayne Gretzky have not discussed playing time.

Sitting out, he said, isn’t much fun.

“Mentally, it’s frustrating because you want to be on the ice helping the team and trying to help win hockey games,” he said.

Comrie believes the team, still in last place in the Pacific Division, is playing hard as a group and working together.

Tellqvist back in goal
Goalie Mikael Tellqvist, whose effort helped the Coyotes to a 2-1 shootout victory over Chicago on Thursday, will start tonight.

“It’s great when a guy comes in and gives the players the confidence he’s given our group of guys,” Gretzky said after the game. “It’s really been a boost for our team. He and Curtis (Joseph) seem to have something pretty nice going right now, which is a really positive step for our hockey team.”

In the victory over the Blackhawks, Tellqvist made 30 saves through three periods and overtime, and came up big in the shootout.

Shooting blanks
The Coyotes have been shut out three times this season by Dallas, twice by goalie Marty Turco and once by backup Mike Smith, who blanked Phoenix in his NHL debut.

“They’re so disciplined in their system and their great goaltender are the toughest things,” Coyotes defenseman Keith Ballard said. “They don’t give you much. So far they have our number. We need to get good second and third opportunities because Turco can usually see the first one, and if he sees it he’s going to stop it. And he stops a lot of them that he doesn’t see.”

Quelle: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1209yoteNB1209.html

‘Yotes lose heartbreaker in OT

Associated Press
Dec. 9, 2006 10:10 PM

GLENDALE, Ariz.- Jere Lehtinen scored the winning goal with 4.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night.

The goal, Lehtinen’s second of the game, stood up after a dispute and a video review.

During a goal mouth scramble with time expiring, Lehtinen appeared to knock the puck in the net with his stick above his right shoulder Referee Tom Kowat, after consulting with replay officials, declared the goal good and Dallas skated off with its fifth straight victory over Phoenix, spanning two seasons.

Phoenix came from two goals behind in early in the second period to eventually tie the game.

With Dallas leading 3-2, Mike Zigomanis got the Coyotes even when he knocked in Ladislav Nagy’s shot from the right circle at 7:46 of the third period.

Though the Coyotes had the early territorial edge, Dallas scored two power-play goals in the first period.

Lehtinen converted a centering pass from Jussi Jokinen to beat Phoenix goalie Milkael Tellqvist at 8:48. Dallas struck again with the man advantage when Jokinen took Lehtinen’s pass and redirected the puck in at 12:11.

The Coyotes, shut out in their first three games against the Stars this season, finally scored when defenseman Ed Jovanovski’s shot from the left point found its way through traffic and got behind goalie Marty Turco at 13:37.

The team traded second-period goals.

The Stars made it 3-1 when Niklas Hagman drove Jovanovski off the puck behind the Phoenix net, circled in front, and beat Tellqvist with a backhander in close just 42 seconds into the period.

The Coyotes cut the margin to 3-2 as Owen Nolan, off a feed Jeremy Roenick, beat Turco with a wrist shot as he crashed down the slot at 6:37.

Notes: Stars forwards Mike Modano, Brenden Morrow and Eric Lindros sat out with injuries. … Phoenix allowed 31 shots in the first two periods. The crowd of 15,320 was only the fifth for Phoenix this season above 15,000. The Coyotes have not sold out a home game this season.

Quelle: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1209coyotes-ON.html

Ballard doesn’t let injury affect his ‘D’

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 10, 2006 12:00 AM

Keith Ballard entered Saturday’s game vs. Dallas with zero goals and just two assists.

Asked why his offensive stats have dropped significantly from his rookie year when he notched eight goals and 31 assists, his polite response, paraphrased, was talk to the hand.

His injured right hand, that is.

“It’s still sore,” Ballard said after Saturday’s morning skate. “Since I’ve been back, I’m just starting to feel good maybe the last two games. I wasn’t that comfortable handling the puck right when I came back.”

Multiple bones in Ballard’s hand were fractured during the third game of the season when he blocked a slap shot by Columbus center Manny Malhotra. Ballard had surgery a few days later and missed the next 11 games.

When he returned Nov. 9, his hand was heavily taped and his glove had an extra piece of leather sewn onto it.

“My hand is very bulky in the glove and I had to use a lot bigger knob (on his stick),” Ballard said. “I definitely had chances to shoot more, but I was a little more reluctant to shoot because I didn’t have the best control of the puck . . . Obviously, everyone wants to get points. But for me, I just want to contribute somehow and I think I’m finding ways to do that.”

Ballard’s offensive stats are down also because he is not getting as much power-play time as he did last season thanks to newcomer Ed Jovanovski.

Ballard’s defensive stats are up, however.

Last year, he finished a team-worst minus-18. In his first 16 games this season, Ballard’s plus/minus ratio was zero.

“If I get some scoring chances without putting myself in jeopardy defensively, then I’ll take them,” Ballard said. “I definitely know I’m a better player when I’m jumping into the play and trying to use that offensive part of my game, but you have to find a medium somewhere.”

Coach Wayne Gretzky has been using Ballard plenty to kill penalties, especially five-on-three disadvantages, and has been placing him on the ice against opponents’ key lines.

“He’s just a treat to coach,” Gretzky said. “He plays with his heart every night. I’m not worried about him scoring. I know he’s going to get his goals here and there. Defensively, he’s just been tremendous.”

Cujo hit by puck, OK
Goalie Curtis Joseph was struck in the right ear by a teammate’s shot during Saturday’s morning skate.

Joseph was checked out by the medical staff and given the OK to dress for the game and fly with the team to San Jose today. He is slated to start vs. the Sharks on Monday.

Ice chips
Center Mike Ricci was a healthy scratch for the third time in the past four games.

• Left wing Josh Gratton also was scratched.

Quelle: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1210coyotesnb.html

Weird bounce, penalties sink ‘Yotes

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 10, 2006 12:00 AM

The Coyotes officially lost Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Stars on a fluke goal by Jere Lehtinen with 4.6 seconds left in overtime.

But five Phoenix penalties in the first period clearly were the difference in the game.

The Stars, playing without key scorers Mike Modano, Brenden Morrow and Eric Lindros, converted two of their first-period power plays into goals en route to their 4-3 victory at Jobing.com Arena.

Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky called all five Phoenix penalties in the first period “legitimate.”

He was being kind to his players.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Gretzky said. “Physically and mentally, we weren’t as prepared to start the game as they were.”

Dallas led 2-1 after one period and 3-2 after two, but Mike Zigomanis evened the score when he beat Stars goalie Marty Turco on a power play with 12:14 left in regulation.

Ed Jovanovski and Owen Nolan also scored for the Coyotes, whose home winning streak ended at five games.

Dallas shut Phoenix out the first three times it played the Coyotes, but Jovanovski ended the goal drought when he fired a slap shot past Turco with 6:27 left in the first period.

The Coyotes appeared destined for their second consecutive shootout, but it wasn’t to be.

With time winding down in overtime, Lehtinen fired a backhanded shot at Coyotes goalie Mikael Tellqvist, who, despite the outcome, played his third consecutive solid game for Phoenix. The puck hit Tellqvist’s right leg pad, then hit his left shoulder, then popped above his head, hit off the back of his helmet and dropped into the goal.

“It’s just a bad break,” said Tellqvist, who made 40 saves. “At least we got a point.”

Jovanovski agreed.

“It was nice to battle back,” Jovanovski said. “We felt going into the third period it was a very winnable game for us. It’s unfortunate. . . . We can’t let that get us down right now, we feel like we’re making strides. There’s nothing we can do about it; that was just a bad break.”

Turco made 28 saves to beat Phoenix for the third time this season.

Coyotes report
Cheers
Center Mike Comrie returned after missing 14 games because of a broken bone in his right foot and notched an assist on Phoenix’s first goal.

Jeers
Phoenix won 26 of 60 faceoffs.

Our three stars
1. Jere Lehtinen, Stars, two goals, one assist.
2. Jeff Halpern, Stars, assist, five shots, won 12 of 17 face-offs.
3. Mikael Tellqvist, Coyotes, 40 saves.

View from the press box
Mike Zigomanis, who started the season as the fourth-line center, has quickly and quietly become a key contributor to Phoenix’s offense. Zigomanis has scored three goals in the past five games. That’s the same number of goals he entered the season with after playing in 59 NHL games in over the past three seasons.

Quelle: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/1210yotesplug1210.html

Bild des Spiels:

Gut zurück gekommen und am Ende einen Punkt geholt - das ist ok.

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GFHL: Coyotes besiegen Spitzenreiter!

10.12.2006 von Coyote.

In einem spannenden Spiel besiegten heute die Coyoten die Toronto Maple Leafs auf deren Eis mit 5:1. Bedanken können sich die Yotes dabei bei Ex-Coyote Todd Bertuzzi, der mit seiner frühen Strafzeit den Coyotes gleich eine Chance im Powerplay gab - die direkt genutzt wurde. Reinprecht (Zubov, Brind’Amour) netzte zum 1:0 ein. Als man im ersten Drittel dann noch durch den überragenden Zubov (Kolanos, Morris) auf 2:0 erhöhen konnte gab das den Coyoten die Sicherheit die man in einem Spiel gegen den Spitzenreiter braucht. Auch der Anschlusstreffer von Samsonov im Mitteldrittel brachte Phoenix nicht aus dem Konzept, Doan (Boynton, Elias) erhöhte auf 3:1. Im letzten Drittel waren es dann Brind’Amour (Morris, Zubov) und Nagy (Morris, Zubov) die den Endstand von 5:1 hersellten. Ed Belfour sicherte 29 von 30 Schüssem Defender Sergei Zubov erzielte einen Treffer und drei Assist, Derek Morris kam ebenfalls auf drei Assists. Die Coyoten konnten damit die Führung in der Western Conference weiter verteidigen und zudem zu den Leafs an der Tabellenspitze punktemäßig aufschliessen.

Boxscore

Bereits am Dienstag gibt es das Rückspiel gegen Toronto in Phoenix.

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