Arizona Coyotes: Quietly on the prowl for the postseason
By Jasmine Yen
The Western Conference wild-card race is up for grabs and the Arizona Coyotes are making a strong bid for their first postseason appearance in seven years.
The Arizona Coyotes have been heating up at the right time. They are currently on a six-game winning streak, including a dominant 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. This team has been riddled with season-ending injuries to key players, and yet Rick Tocchet has kept the Coyotes’ playoff hopes alive. When you can stay competitive with your starting goaltender out for the season, you’re doing something right.
The two biggest driving factors for the Coyotes right now is their improved goaltending and their increased production from Alex Galchenyuk.
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After losing Antii Raanta, the Coyotes went on a goaltending carousel and dressed 4 different goaltenders before settling on Darcy Kuemper. His play started to stabilize and since December, the team has gone 15-3-3 with him in net, including two shutouts. Since the Coyotes are not a high-scoring team, having a solid goaltender is necessary for success and Kuemper is delivering.
In the summer, the Coyotes made a trade with the Montreal Canadiens which sent Max Domi away in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk.
Galchenyuk ended up missing a chunk of games at the start of the season due to a lower-body injury and it took him a long time to get back on track.
February was a dominant month for him as he recorded 7 goals and 4 points in 14 games, including a three-point game where he had a pair of goals and an assist.
General manager John Chayka even spoke about Galchenyuk’s latest hot streak:
"That’s what we talked about last year a lot. We had a team that hung around, we were in a lot of games, but we couldn’t get that key play at the right time. He’s been able to do that for us. … He’s a goal scorer and that’s a very elite quality and it’s tough to find those. We stuck with it, he stuck with it and the results have been phenomenal for our group.”"
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The Coyotes have a very special team right now. The players could have used the crippling injuries as an excuse for their performance. Instead, they have buckled down and are now fighting for the last wild-card spot in the west. Currently, they are two points behind the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars and with the way they’re playing right now, they can easily run away from the pack and properly secure a spot.