GLENDALE, Ariz. — We're not in February any more.
The Coyotes are suddenly mortal.
You knew this loss was coming. Phoenix had overcome great deficits, great
goaltending, great teams and just about every other obstacle thrown its way
during February's remarkable 11-0-1 streak.
On Thursday, the first day of March, the Coyotes couldn't overcome an abysmal
first period in a 4-2 loss to the desperate Calgary Flames at Jobing.com Arena.
"We've been coming from behind too many times," said captain Shane
Doan, whose club trailed 3-0 after the opening period. "Do that too much,
you're going to get burned. That first period was about as bad as we've been in
a while."
That's what happens when you handle the puck like a hand grenade.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson made a poor clearing attempt that Jarome Iginla
intercepted on Mike Cammalleri's goal for a 1-0 lead. Goalie Mike Smith got
beaten from an impossible angle on Curtis Glencross' goal that recalled Patrick
Kane's Stanley Cup winning tally two years ago. And defenseman Michal Rozsival
tried a drop-pass to Keith Yandle in his own slot that Olli Jokinen intercepted
for the Flames' third tally.
Those were just the most egregious errors in what coach Dave Tippett termed a
comedy of first-period blunders.
"We passed to the other team instead of ours," he said. "That
one jumped out at me."
Phoenix looked like it might pull off another miracle comeback when it scored
twice in the first four minutes of the second period on goals by Raffi Torres
and Rozsival to cut the lead to 3-2. Rozsival's goal was his first since last
March against Columbus.
But the breaks that had gone the Coyotes' way in February did not on Thursday –
most notably Ekman-Larsson's point-blank, game-tying chance in the third period
that rang off the post with goalie Miikka Kiprusoff badly beaten.
"When you don't deserve to win, usually you don't win," Tippett said.
The Coyotes were predictably glum after their first regulation loss since a 4-1
defeat to Anaheim on Jan. 31. Phoenix fans were predictably superstitious
online, noting the perfectly synchronized turning of the month and a downturn
in the Coyotes' fortunes.
But there were silver linings all around the NHL on Thursday. Other than
Calgary, all of the teams chasing the Coyotes also lost, making this defeat
feel more like a push with the added bonus of one game being removed from the
schedule.
Minnesota dropped a shootout decision at Montreal. Previously red-hot Colorado
laid a goose egg at home against Columbus and San Jose was shut out at home by
Buffalo, with goalie Ryan Miller turning aside 39 shots. The final result kept
the Coyotes atop the Pacific Division for another day.
The manner in which Phoenix lost was still troubling internally, but
ultimately, the loss isn't as important as the Coyotes' response. In that
regard, it's nice to know the NHL's worst team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are
coming to town on Saturday.
"The sooner that we forget about what we did last month, the better,"
Torres said. "(Friday) we should come in and have a good hard practice –
get back to execution."
