Coyotes get a jump on East Coast trip
When it comes to NHL scheduling, the Coyotes understand they have little control over their fate. But there are still some measures the Coyotes are taking in an attempt to balance the scales.
Instead of a home practice on Sunday, the Coyotes flew to New York for a head start on an upcoming East Coast road trip that features stops against the New York Rangers (Tuesday), New York Islanders (Thursday), New Jersey Devils (Friday) and Buffalo Sabres (Oct. 28).
The Coyotes laced up for a Monday practice in Manhattan, a deliberate attempt to help the players adjust to the three-hour time change. It’s an adjustment from recent seasons when the Coyotes would practice at Gila River Arena the day before starting a road trip.
"It’s a long flight and our practice today was like 7:30 (a.m.) back home,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters on Monday in New York. “It was actually a pretty good (practice) considering we’re on that time. Now we’ve got over 24 hours here to get ready for the Rangers.”
The Coyotes are victims of an unfortunate schedule this season. At the conclusion of this road trip, they will fly home with just one day between the final game of their trip and an Oct. 30 date with the Montreal Canadiens in Glendale.
It will already be the second time the Coyotes are forced into such a quick turnaround prior to a home game this season. And they will do it four more times after that. Combine that quirk with 13 total back-to-back games this season and you’ve got one heck of an unfriendly schedule.
The Coyotes will not always have the luxury of flying one day earlier. On multiple occasions, the Coyotes will have to turn around after a home game and travel to play a team in either the Eastern or Central time zone with just one day in between.
“Because of our schedule,” Tocchet said, “we’ve got to do a couple of different things. We’ve got to think outside the box and give these guys enough time to get acclimated to East Coast time, and we need practice time.”
Tocchet said he's liked his team's performance in nearly every game this season, despite the 0-2 start. The Coyotes enter the road trip on the heels of a five-game point streak (4-0-1).
"I’ve liked most of the games," Tocchet said. "I feel like we’ve played very consistent hockey. Things are going good, but we’re always a work in progress. It’s like every coach says: You just want to make sure you’re on top of things . ... We’ve got to make sure we buckle up a little bit."