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Phoenix beats Winnipeg in battle for Jet supremacy

Andrew Ladd, Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Winnipeg Jets left wing Andrew Ladd (16) battles Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23), of Sweden, in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes won 4-1. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

AP

Players and coaches will tell you that no game is more important than any other. Fans—well, “fan” is short for “fanatic.” There’s no doubt that fans on both sides of the equation wanted to win the Jets/Coyotes game in Phoenix on Saturday night. Plenty was made about the new Jets flying down to the desert for their first game against the Phoenix Coyotes. With all of the drama between the fanbases, bragging rights were on the line.

Round 1 went to the Coyotes by a score of 4-1; and it was decided with a quick KO 34 seconds into the game.

Daymond Langkow buried a shot past Chris Mason before fans even had a chance to get comfortable in their seats. Defensive super prospect Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the next two goals of the game to give Phoenix a 3-0 lead before Andrew Ladd was able to end the shutout bid with 19 seconds left in the 2nd period. Ray Whitney iced the game with about 13 minutes left in the 3rd period to send the Phoenix faithful home happy.

Dave Tippett knew it would be a different atmosphere at home and it would be important to get off to a strong start at home:

“There’s a lot made with the situation from the past, with the situation that we were supposed to move, to them getting a team, the hoopla about their team there. Ultimately, when the puck dropped, I was very proud of our guys.

“We wanted to get off to a great start; I think we did that. Scoring on the first shift certainly helps gets our crowd in the game and helps dissolve some of the emotion coming from the Winnipeg fans.”


Aside from the win, another positive from the game was the attendance. Not only was it an over capacity sellout, it was estimated that it was 80-85% Coyotes fans in the stands. For people who were afraid that Winnipeggers were going to take over Jobing.com Arena, the Coyotes fans came out in force for the home opener.

The Coyotes did their part to make sure the fans had a good time once they got there.

The Coyotes are now 2-1-1 after getting blasted by the Sharks on opening night. Mike Smith is showing signs of being the goaltender that Coyotes management thought he could be, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is continuing to develop into a very good defenseman, and Martin Hanzal and Shane Doan are continuing to do what they do.

Sooner or later, we’ll stop being surprised when the Coyotes string wins together.