- Slug: Sports-Coyotes second half, 670 words
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By REBECCA DANTUONO
Cronkite News
GLENDALE – Since the All-Star break, the Coyotes have been back on the ice, hoping to play the last leg of the season better than how it started. With a fresh mindset and tons of young talent, the team hopes to move in a positive direction.
The Coyotes had only 33 points coming into the break, putting them last in the league. After winning two of the three games before the break, they expected to continue the momentum.
“The last month has probably been the best,” forward Christian Fischer said. “We kind of turned a corner there and to just continue what we started in the month of January, we’re playing really well.”
But things haven’t picked up just yet. The team has lost three of their four games since the season started back up. A lack of consistency and keeping everyone on the same page is what many players believe are factors for the team’s poor performance.
“Earlier in the year we were having breakdowns that cost us goals and bad turnovers,” Fischer said. “So I think if we have a consistency with how we’re playing, the system and everyone making good execution (will pay off).”
Only having one three-game winning streak, the Coyotes struggled in the first half of the season to keep a strong, reliable style of play going.
“We win a game and then we go on a four- or five-game losing streak,” forward Jordan Martinook said. “We’ve been more consistent (recently) and that’s shown in our play. We’ve been winning some games and it’s definitely been more consistent because the effort is there every night; we just kind of have to put it all together.”
Besides Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who was the only Coyotes player selected to the 2018 All-Star Game, everyone had time to take a break and refresh for the second half of the season.
“It’s always nice to kind of get away and reset you mind,” goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “Obviously there’s been some tough times throughout the season already, and myself being traded here a little after their 0 and 10 start was a task in itself.”
The Coyotes acquired Wedgewood from the New Jersey Devils in late October. Actually, almost half of the Coyotes’ roster is made up of players who were acquired in the past year.
Forward Brendan Perlini said the team has come a long way since October, and everyone has finally built that chemistry with one another.
“Last year it was a pretty big turnover,” said Perlini, who made his NHL debut with the Coyotes in 2016. “It’s always interesting getting new guys in, a lot of moving parts over the summer, and it’s pretty good now. We’re all used to each other and it’s a lot of fun.”
In his second season with the Coyotes, Perlini is only 21. And he isn’t the only young player on the roster. The Coyotes are one of the younger teams in the league, with an average age of 25.
“There’s a lot of us young guys,” Perlini said. “We don’t want to be just a young group; we want to win, get better and improve everyday.”
Perlini is second on the team in goals with 14, trailing only 19-year-old rookie Clayton Keller, who has 15 after Thursday night’s overtime winner. Although the results aren’t showing yet, the team is full of young talent.
“All the potential that could come out of this locker room in four or five years from now, it’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with,” Wedgewood said. “Obviously contracts come in to play, salary cap and keeping everybody here, but it’s a bright future.”
After Thursday night’s thrilling comeback win over the Wild, the Coyotes record stands at 13-32-9. The team returns home after a three-game road trip to face the Flyers on Saturday night.
