Klesla makes what is likely temporary return to team
him to Portland — this time, with Klesla actually stepping foot on a plane — again.
“I think the plan is still for him to go down and play some games in Portland, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” Tippett said.
The team took a risk placing Klesla on waivers Tuesday, hoping that another team wouldn’t claim him. The Coyotes lucked out, but won’t have to face that risk again if they send him down soon. Under NHL transaction rules, a player must spend 30 days on an NHL roster or play in 10 games after being waived before he must go through the waiver process again.
Klesla is in the final year of his contract, which is paying him $2.975 million this season. He was a healthy scratch against the Tampa Bay Lightning two weeks ago, and has also missed several games due to injury.
No zeros
Entering Friday, the Coyotes were one of three teams in the NHL that have been neither shut out nor held an opponent scoreless. The other two: the Calgary Flames and Saturday’s opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Offensively, it’s a good thing,” winger Radim Vrbata said. “Defensively, not so much.”
Phoenix is scoring 3.16 goals a game — fourth-best in the league — but allowing 3.08, which is 24th. That’s a stark change from the last couple years, when both averages hovered around 2.60 or lower.
The Coyotes are happy for the offensive improvement, but the defensive lapses have been concerning. Finding solutions on the blue line was the impetus for the team placing Klesla on waivers.
“We’ve addressed some of the offensive issues we’ve had in the past,” Smith said. “That’s one area that’s gotten a lot better this year. It’s lacked on the opposite end, which usually we’re very good in. Right now, we’ll take goal scoring, we’ll take the wins.”
The Coyotes would like to take the wins with stronger defense, though. That’s why Tippett was happy to see a defensive-minded 3-1 road win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. In the win, backup goalie Thomas Greiss faced only 29 shots — under the team’s season average of 34.5 — and the Wild didn’t get on the scoreboard until the third period.
“We didn’t give up an early lead,” Tippett said. “We were solid in a lot of the aspects of the game that we wanted to kind of shore up. Our puck decisions were good, we defended well around our net, our goaltending was really solid. It was just kind of a solid team game that we’ve come to kind of know our identity that way.”
The lack of shutouts — good or bad — hasn’t hurt Phoenix or Chicago in the standings. The Blackhawks lead the league with 40 points, and the Coyotes are in the middle of the Pacific Division race with 34.
Ice chips
Coyotes captain Shane Doan didn’t practice Friday but will play against the Blackhawks today. Tippett said the team just wanted to give him more rest. Doan played sparingly against the Wild after leaving the previous game with an injury.
Winger Lauri Korpikoski, currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, skated before Friday’s practice for the first time since suffering his injury last Thursday. He won’t play today, but is a possibility to play next week, Tippett said. There is still no timetable for the return of defenseman Zbynek Michalek (lower body), who hasn’t played since Nov. 14.
When: 6 p.m. Where: Jobing .com Arena. TV/radio: FSAZ Plus/KMVP-AM (860). Blackhawks update: The defending Stanley Cup champions lead the NHL with 42 points, holding a narrow lead over the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference’s Central Division. Chicago wraps up a seven-game road trip in Phoenix after playing the Dallas Stars on Friday. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 2-1 in a shootout.