You have to say this for the Phoenix Coyotes: they certainly find a way to make it interesting.
After blowing yet another third period lead on Friday night they were able to come away with a 4-3 overtime win over the Nashville Predators thanks to Ray Whitney's game-winning goal. For the Coyotes, it's the first time they've ever won a game in the second round of the NHL playoffs (and this goes all the way back to their days in Winnipeg), and it gives them a 1-0 lead in their Western Conference Semifinal series.
The result is great, but they might want to reconsider their strategy when it comes to protecting leads in the third period. For the fifth time in seven playoff games the Coyotes allowed a third period lead to slip away, forcing yet another overtime period.
To say the Coyotes went into a shell in the third period on Friday would be a comical understatement. They generated just one shot in the third period while Nashville cycled, attacked and pressured the Phoenix defense, forcing Mike Smith to face a ton of shots. Again.
A lot of bad things can happen when you're pinned deep in your own end of the ice for that length of time. In this game, it turned out to be a late penalty on Boyd Gordon with five minutes to play, which resulted in Martin Erat's game-tying power play goal.
Just take a look at the third period shot chart, with Nashville in blue and Phoenix in green:
You could just feel the game-tying goal coming, and eventually it happened.
And again, somehow, they were able to overcome it and get a win in overtime. How long can this continue? The concern for Phoenix has to be how long it can keep doing this and winning games in this manner. When you keep relying on overtime games where one bounce can determine the outcome eventually the luck is going to run out.
The Coyotes are 5-2 in the playoffs this season, and as a team they haven't always looked that great.
Fortunately, they have a goaltender (Smith) that's given them an opportunity every single night and has been one of the best players in the playoffs. He's the biggest difference-maker they have, and if his performance regresses even a little it could get ugly for the Coyotes.
Photo: AP
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