The Arizona Coyotes postseason chances are on life support. To make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they need more from these three players.
Early on this season, almost everything seemed to be going right for the Arizona Coyotes. After a somewhat surprising start to the season, they found themselves near the top of the Pacific division, thanks in large part to offensive contributions from many players, as well as Vezina Trophy-like goaltending from Darcy Kuemper.
Still, some questioned whether this team had the star power to be able to do much damage come playoff time. General manager John Chyka must have agreed with that notion, as he went out and pulled off a massive trade just prior to Christmas, acquiring Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils.
Unfortunately for the Coyotes, just three days after Hall was brought in, Kuemper was hurt in a game versus the Minnesota Wild and was only able to return to action a week ago. The team was certainly not the same in his absence.
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As of now, the Coyotes are still alive in the playoff race but they have to put a stretch of wins together to gain some ground. Currently, they are tied with the Nashville Predators for the final wildcard spot on the Western Conference but have also played one more game than them. They also trail the Calgary Flames by three points for the third spot in the Pacific division.
Time is ticking, as they have just 15 games remaining, but playoffs are still a possibility for this club. In order to make it happen, they will need three individual players to step up their games.
Phil Kessel
Coyotes fans were thrilled this offseason when the team pulled off a big trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire star forward Phil Kessel. Kessel, who had put up an extremely impressive 174 points over his last two seasons, was expected to come in and be the dominating forward that the Coyotes lacked on their roster.
It appeared to be a good match, as Kessel got to reunite with head coach Rick Tocchet, who Kessel was known to have a great relationship with while Tocchet was the assistant coach years prior with the Penguins.
Unfortunately for both Kessel and the Coyotes, the move hasn’t worked out the way everyone had hoped. He has struggled throughout the entirety of the season, putting up just 14 goals and 36 points in 67 games.
They need a lot more from him. As his stats from prior seasons show, he is certainly capable of playing at a much higher level, which is what the Coyotes will need him to do if they have any hopes of making the playoffs.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
There has been lots of chatter over the years of how underrated of a defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is. I’m not here to deny that. However, the talk is always how he has never had the opportunity to play for a high-end skilled team, which has hurt his offensive production.
Well, this season he started the season with Phil Kessel and has had Taylor Hall since December. These are arguably two of the most skilled forwards he has ever played with, yet his production is actually down from past years.
In 63 games this season, the 28-year-old Swede has just eight goals and 27 points. With the Coyotes looking to stay alive, this is a great chance for Ekman-Larsson to prove he is the top tier defenceman many believe him to be.
Taylor Hall
This may draw a reaction from some people, as Hall has actually played fairly well during his short 32 game stint in the desert. Since joining the team he has managed nine goals and 25 points, which is certainly not a bad total. However, as Hall proved during his Hart Trophy 2017-18 season, he is capable of being elite. That season, he carried a New Jersey Devils team, a team with a roster much weaker than the current Coyotes roster, all the way to the playoffs.
Hall was brought to this team to help them go on a deep playoff run. Since then, things have gone south for the Coyotes, and they need Hall to step it up just to give them a chance to make it to the playoffs. Considering what they gave up for him, it would be a complete failure for the organization if they were to miss playoffs, especially when he has the option to sign elsewhere at seasons end. If this team has any chance of the playoffs, they need Hall to takeover.