Coyotes ‘frustrated’ by blocked shots
It took less than 10 seconds for things to start going the Coyotes’ way in Game 2 of their best of five series against Nashville. Filip Forsberg would trip forward Phil Kessel sending the Coyotes to the power play five seconds into the game.
However, as quick the game looked to turn in favor of the Coyotes, the Predators slowly began to swing the momentum. By the end of the first period, despite the Coyotes out shooting the Pred- ators, 14-5, Nashville had a 2-0 lead. Throughout the game the Predators shots and blocks would rise, while the Coyotes’ offense would remain stagnant, resulting in a Game 2 loss, 4-2.
“I liked our first three or four shots, but I thought Nashville in the second blocked a ton of shots and they came to play,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “We adjusted on some of the stuff in the third that helped us offensively, but I think we were getting frustrated when we were getting our shots blocked.”
The Predators blocked almost as many shots as shots the Coyotes had in the game with 21 blocked shots as a team. Forward Nick Bonino lead the charge with five blocked shots followed by defensemen Ryan Ellis and Dante Fabbro with three a piece. Captain Oliver Ekman Larsson said the Predators’ presence out front was a noticeable change from game one.
“They were in the shooting lane and it was hard to get pucks to the net,” Ekman Larsson said. “We couldn’t really generate anything great from that and I think that’s something that we need to find ways to get pucks to the net. If we can do that, we’re going to be a much better team.”
The lack of shots on net began to add up for the Coyotes as the Predators outshot them in the second period, 9-2, and would eventually surpass the Coyotes in shooting. The freeze on offense added frustration to the Coyotes, particularly to forward Taylor Hall, who sat for eight out of the 10 Coyote penalty minutes, which included four minutes for drawing blood on a high stick.
As the Coyotes found momentum in the first minute of the game, they found it again in the final minute of the game off of two goals from forward Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse. While it may not do much except add a tally to the final score, Keller believes that late goals and seeing grit from other players is huge for momentum going into the next game.
“The younger guys look up to the older guys that have been here before and know what it takes,” Keller said. “We have to have a short memory and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Unlike most days where “tomorrow” is accompanied by a practice, the Coyotes are back on the ice again at Rogers Place for game three, with the winner taking a stranglehold on the series. Tocchet has been telling his team to forget the result of the last game, win or lose, and continue moving forward. Tuesday’s situation calls for a 50 First Dates type of amnesia.
“Playoff experience, whether you’re a player or a coach, you need to have a short memory,” Tocchet said. “Sure, we’re disappointed on some of the things that happened, but I don’t think we gave them a lot of chances. Less than 24 hours we’re coming back at it, so we need energy and some guys to play a little better for us. We need to keep the same energy we had tonight and not get frustrated.”