NHL: Key Players For Western Conference Playoff Teams
By Jasmine Yen
Arizona Coyotes – Taylor Hall
The Arizona Coyotes have had problems scoring for a while now and before this season started, they brought in Phil Kessel to address that problem. When that didn’t pan out as expected, John Chayka traded for Taylor Hall.
Ever since, the team has gone 8-11-3 and are one point out of the final wild-card spot. While the biggest reason for the losses is the devastating injuries to key players like Darcy Kuemper and Oliver Eckman-Larsson, Hall has not played up to expectations and it could cost the Coyotes.
Hall has 19 points (7G 12A) in 22 games played but that’s just not good enough for what the Coyotes gave up. They traded for a Hart-winning winger and that’s not what they’re getting. The team’s 2.7 goals per game is one of the worst in the league and there’s not many moves that Chayka can make anymore to fix that.
As the star winger on the team, Hall needs to make sure that both him and his linemates are producing at a higher rate. If he can ignite the top line, it will give Arizona some much-needed offensive help.
The best hope for Arizona is that they get healthy and their key offensive players start producing. With so many injuries to their goaltenders, star forwards need to step up and lighten up the workload for whichever goalie is filling in. Unless the team can start scoring, the Coyotes can kiss their playoff dreams goodbye.