Suffice to say, the Arizona Coyotes did not enjoy their five-game road trip through Nashville, Detroit, Buffalo, Carolina, and St. Louis.
In fact, they lost all five games.
In regulation.
By a combined score of 24-10.
But at least nobody got hit by a bus.
“It’s very discouraging going 0-5 on a road trip,” defenseman Michael Stone told the Arizona Republic. “I think that’s how everybody feels right now.”
After a surprisingly good start to the season, the Coyotes’ record has since fallen below .500 to 13-14-1. The goaltending has been poor. The skaters, both young and old, have been making way too many mistakes.
Basically, a lot of the stuff people expected from this team has started to occur.
That’s the bad news.
Here’s some good.
The Calgary Flames did exactly the same thing last year. They got off to a surprisingly good start, then lost eight in a row in December, leaving most people to think, Well, that was nice, but it’s over now.
The Flames, of course, ended up making the playoffs, and even won a round.
For the record, that’s not what I’m predicting for the Coyotes. I think they’re far more likely to be in the Auston Matthews lottery, which is probably for the best anyway. Just imagine what a homegrown superstar could do for that franchise. Matthews grew up in Scottsdale. The Coyotes might be moving to Scottsdale, or at least close by.
Still, as badly as that road trip went, the Coyotes have only fallen two points out of a playoff spot. In the Pacific Division, a mere six points separate second from last. The Anaheim Ducks may believe they’re too good to miss out on the postseason, but hey, that’s what people said all last year about the Kings.
The Coyotes play their next six games at home, starting Friday versus Minnesota. They’ll need to bounce back sooner or later, but they’re not dead yet.