Vancouver Canucks vs. Phoenix Coyotes Recap: Five For Whimpering

The Phoenix Coyotes have now lost five games in a row after losing to the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on Thursday.

The Coyotes did not play a bad game, but continued to be unable to score enough goals to win.

[Complete Coverage] - [Vancouver Reaction]

[Event Summary] - [Play-by-Play] - [TOI Report] - [Faceoff Report]

"We are not good enough right now," Coyotes Captain Shane Doan said. Head Coach Dave Tippett echoed that sentiment by saying, "we're just not doing enough to win."

The Coyotes once again struggled to get the first goal of the game as an uncovered Chris Tanev wristed a puck past Mike Smith to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. While the Coyotes did not play a bad period, Vancouver controlled the pace in the first and really frustrated the Desert Dogs with physical play and good sticks I the defensive zone.

Daniel Sedin collided with Smith early in the second period. Smith was down for about a minute but stayed in the game. Sedin was also injured and taken back to the locker room; he would return. The fireworks would continue late in the period as Alex Edler charged Smith behind the net, making contact with his head. Both teams' players on the ice (with the exception of Cory Schneider) piled on top of each other behind the net. Edler was given a 5-minute charging penalty. When asked what he saw on the Smith hit, Tippett said, "I saw a guy just run him over." He added that he feels the league would review the hit as they do all other major penalties. A rouging penalty by Hanzal in the scrum coupled with an incorrect hooking call on Shane Doan eliminated all but 1:51 of the major penalty. The Canucks player grabbed Doan's stick then let it go, prompting the referee to incorrectly assess Doan a minor penalty. Smith finished the second period but did not come out for the third.

Antoine Vermette took advantage of the major penalty by putting home a rebounded Radim Vrbata shot into the open net. The Canucks would re-take the lead midway through the 3^rd period as Jordan Schroeder pushed in a Jannik Hanson deflection past LaBarbera, who never saw the puck.

"We need practice," Tippett said. He added that the team would practice two days during the three day layoff.

Oh yeah, the Coyotes have still not won (or have earned a point in) a Thursday game this season.

Paw Prints

• The Coyotes were credited with 24 hits in the first period. They finished with 50 total.
• Lauri Korpikoski led all players with eight hits.
• There were no penalties in the first 33:40 of the game. Then, the first two were 40 seconds apart.
• Edler was not assessed a game misconduct for the major charging penalty. The official reasoning was not given but one could assume that was the case because Smith did not immediately leave the game. Edler would return and assist on the GWG.
• Attendance: 17,220

Five For Winning:

1. Score. Now that the Coyotes have ended the goalless streak the floodgates are free to open and they are free to light lamp again and again. They lit the lamp once but it was one time too few.

2. Discipline. The referees don't seem to be cutting the team any slack, although this could be a league wide problem, but either way the Coyotes need to not take any stupid penalties, or preferably any penalties. A penalty-free game early turned into a free-for-all late. Repeated hits on the Phoenix goaltender didn't help matters.

3. Power play unit. The Coyotes have had difficulties converting on the man advantage, and it has been costing them. With Radim Vrbata back in the lineup hopefully the team can find the back of the net when the other team is in the box. The only goal scored by the Yotes was a power play goal. They have been very successful on the PP at home as of late.

4. Play to the crowd. There aren't many unsold seats left in Jobing.com Arena, something we don't normally say for a weekday game against a non-rival team. Being as the Coyotes are coming off a long road trip it should be good for the team to play for a crowd that is cheering for them. Very active crowd throughout the night. The scrums involving Smith really got the crowd going.

5. Win. The Coyotes need the points to move back into a playoff position and although this won't be an easy task it is an important one. There was no DJ Khalid to be played as the Yotes left the ice tonight. Another game, another loss and the Coyotes are sinking fast.

Our Three Stars Of The Game

1. Cory Schneider: Stopped 34 of 35 shots and made the easy saves and sprinkled in some hard ones throughout the game

2. Jordan Schroeder: Scored the GWG and was on the ice for both Vancouver goals (+2).

3. Antoine Vermette: Scored a goal and won 75% of his faceoffs.

Game Highlights

Looking Ahead

The Coyotes will stay in Arizona as they await the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. as the Coyotes hope to end their five game losing streak.