GLENDALE, AZ – Once upon a time, playing in the desert was more of an advantage to the road teams visiting there. Not anymore.
Led by the two point performances of five different players including veteran defenseman Shane Doan, the Phoenix Coyotes held off the Nashville Predators 5-3 in game two of the Western Conference semifinals at the Jobbing.com Arena. Phoenix now leads the best-of-seven series two games to none – the first time the franchise has held a 2-0 lead since 1987 when the then-Winnipeg Jets held that advantage over the Calgary Flames.
Doan, Antoine Vermette and Radim Vrbata each tallied one goal and one assist while Ray Whitney and Keith Yandle notched two assists apiece to pace the attack for the Coyotes. The five goal output came in support of goalie Mike Smith who for the second straight game out dueled Nashville’s Vezina Trophy candidate Pekka Rinne between the pipes.
“That’s how we score – kind of by committee and pucks going at the net. We made some good plays. The play that Yandle made to Vermette was just an outstanding play,” Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “We’re capable of some good plays too which probably a lot of people don’t know about. For the most part we grind and pound our way to goals.”
Looking to build on Friday night’s overtime win, the Coyotes roared out of the gates, swarming all over the Predators. The aggressive play, which included the defensemen moving up, led to a lot of running around by Nashville and multiple shots on Rinne.
The Coyotes’ hustle paid off at the 8:32 mark of the period with the game’s first goal. Mikkel Boedker, who has become one of the brightest stars on the Phoenix roster, chased down a dump in the Nashville end. As he cycled along the boards, Boedker saw defenseman Yandle dropping in from the point. Yandle took the feed from Boedker and whipped a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Vermette who redirected it past a stunned Rinne.
Smelling blood on the ice, the Coyotes pushed the tempo even higher, forcing the Predators to try to keep up. It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the period that the visitors found a way to defeat the pressure. Nick Spaling started a rush by making a neutral zone pass to Kevin Klein who skated it into the Phoenix defensive end. Klein met a Coyotes defenseman who hit the Nashville forward, spinning him but as he spun, Klein somehow found Andrei Kostitsyn cruising alone in the slot. Kostitsyn made one quick shoulder dip and fired the puck low to the stick side past Smith. The goal at 17:13 infused the Predators with some energy but by the end of the opening period, Phoenix was gaining the momentum back, finishing the stanza with a 12-9 shot advantage.
The Coyotes started the second period with just as much energy as they did the first. Just before the four minute mark, the Coyotes regained the leas thanks to a veteran play and the speed of youth. Whitney, who was the hero Friday night, got his stick on a loose puck in the neutral zone. Instead of gaining control, he simply shoveled it to Vrbata who was flying toward the Nashville end. Vrbata took the puck deep, drawing Rinne with him away from the near side post. Looking to be trapped, Vrbata slid the puck between Rinne’s skates to the crease where Martin Hanzel beat two Predators to it and poked it home.
Phoenix extended the lead at the 7:05 mark but not before Smith had to save his defense. The Predators stormed the Coyotes end, forcing Smith to make a series of big saves. When Phoenix finally got control of the puck, they broke out on an odd-man rush. Yandle blasted a shot from near the top of the face-off circle that Rinne knocked to the backboards. The disc went airborne where veteran Nashville center David Legwand made a rookie move by catching it. Trying to not be called for a penalty, he quickly released it but it went out in front where Vrbata took it and fired it home.
Knowing they were in danger of letting the game get away, the Predators caught a break when Whitney was called for slashing Alexander Radulov. Nashville kept the puck in the Phoenix end, pressuring for a score to get back into the game. With less than ten seconds left in the advantage, Ryan Suter drove a shot from the point that Patric Hornqvist tipped past Smith to draw the Predators within 3-2.
The goal quieted the crowd but not for long. Thirty seconds later, Doan got loose along the far boards and drilled a hard shot that Rinne stopped. Unfortunately for the Vezina Trophy candidate, he directed the rebound into the slot where two of his teammates over-skated it. Right behind them was Taylor Pyatt who buried it into the open net to restore the Coyotes two-goal lead.
“We’ve been chasing (them) the whole series. Tonight they go up 2-1, 3-1. We make it 3-2 then the next shift they get a goal,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “I knew they were going to be better that they were in game one. We’re scoring enough goals to win this series but we’re giving up way too many.”
Early in the third period, Nashville again had an opportunity to claw back into the game and took advantage of a power play opportunity. An interference call against Vrbata gave the Predators a four-on-three advantage. It took a mere 31 seconds for Shea Weber to set up Suter for a one-time blast that beat a screened Smith to make it 4-3.
As the Predators continued to try to get the equalizer, Rinne was left to hold the fort on his own. He made a ten-bell save on Gilbert Brule on a odd-man break to keep his team within shouting distance. Not too long after, the Coyotes had a offensive zone face-off which Vermette won cleanly back to Derek Morris. Morris wound up and let go with a slap shot that Doan, showing his deft hands, tipped over Rinne’s right shoulder into the top corner of the net.
Trotz pulled Rinne with about two minutes remaining, trying to force the Coyotes into a crucial mistake. The Coyotes stayed calm and kept the Predators from getting any closer, setting up Wednesday’s pivotal game three in Nashville.
Game Notes: Phoenix out-shot Nashville 39-33, marking the first time in the 2012 playoffs that the Coyotes held the advantage…Phoenix failed on two man advantage opportunities while the Predators were successful on both of their power play chances…Phoenix defenseman Rostislav Klesla took a puck to the face early in the first period. After getting stitched up and making sure his head was clear, he returned to action.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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