NHL

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

'Yotes fabulous in February

Rocket up standings after near-perfect month

By: John Marshall

Posted: 03/2/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mikkel Boedker walked through the locker-room with a championship belt slung over his shoulder, recognition for the nifty goal that secured the Phoenix Coyotes' latest win.

His team, after another fantastic February, earned its own reward: First in the Pacific Division and a rush of momentum heading into the final five weeks of the season.

Related Items

Articles
- Jets hammer Florida 7-0

Back to their tight-checking style and the confidence building with each win, the Coyotes roared through February, nearly running the table as they raced up the standings.

"When you do things right and everybody contributes, you have a good chance of success," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "We got some momentum and kind of rallied around it this month."

That month has been good to Phoenix. When the calendar has flipped to February each of the past three seasons, the Coyotes have gone on a big run.

In 2009-10, Phoenix won six straight games and eight of 10, a stretch -- which actually started in January -- that propelled it to the playoffs despite being run by the NHL. A similar spurt came last season, when the Coyotes won eight straight and again made it to the post-season.

Still ownerless, they did it again this season, earning 23 of a possible 24 points while getting at least one in 12 straight games to go from 12th in the Western Conference to fifth -- technically third because they lead the division -- before Thursday night's game against Calgary.

The Coyotes have done it by sticking to Tippett's don't-beat-yourself style, getting good goaltending, steady defence and opportunistic scoring. And, after struggling in close games early in the season, Phoenix has found a way to finish, winning nine of its last 10 one-goal games after losing 10 straight.

"That was a heck of a month by any team's standards," forward Ray Whitney said. "We realize that if we work hard, we can compete with the big boys."

Goalie Mike Smith has had a lot to do with it.

The past two seasons, Ilya Bryzgalov led the Coyotes, rarely allowing easy goals, making the superb saves when the defence broke down in front of him. With Bryzgalov now struggling in Philadelphia after being traded to the Flyers in the off-season, Smith has been the impetus for this year's February run.

Inconsistent at times early in the season, Smith has been one of the NHL's best goalies over the past month, setting a career high and a franchise record with 11 straight wins, longest in the league this season. The 29-year-old had consecutive shutouts against Chicago and the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 11 and 16, stretching his scoreless streak to a career-high 171 minutes over three games.

Smith had a 1.42 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage in the month, and is among the NHL's leaders in four different categories, including wins (29) and goals-against (2.24)

"Obviously, we've done some good things," Smith said. "We really have improved as a group, as a team and this month (February) has been huge for us, moved us drastically up the standings."

The key will be to not let up.

The Coyotes kept its momentum each of the last two seasons to make the playoffs and hopes to do it again after posting the best month, winning percentage-wise, in franchise history.

Phoenix picked up Antoine Vermette from Columbus last week, but were non-players at the trade deadline, fearful of spoiling the continuity of a team that came within a Feb. 13 shootout loss to Vancouver of a perfect month.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 2, 2012 C2

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More NHL

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.