The Coyotes are off to a frustrating start to the season, they have allowed three goals or less in all four games but only have one win and three points to show for it. The latest frustration came in an OT loss on the road in Denver but there are plenty of reasons to not worry and to stick to the system.
In Colorado, they showed their ability to face adversity and comeback from two goals down to force OT with two pretty sick goals from Michael Grabner and Nick Schmaltz.
Unfortunately they could not finish the comeback, but looking at some numbers there is still a lot to like about the start to the season.Looking at their four opponents in Anaheim, Boston, Vegas and Colorado they have combined to play in 18 games after Saturday night's games and combined they have only lost four times. They have played four tough teams and can probably make a case they were the better team in all four games and were one play away from winning each of them. When this team starts playing weaker opponents they should be able to pile up wins.
Defensively and in goal the Coyotes through four games have shown they are an elite unit on the back-end. They have allowed only seven goals in four games, the third least amount in the NHL. Their penalty kill has also picked up where they left off. The Coyotes have killed off 10 of their 11 penalties which is sixth in the league.
Another thing to be excited about is the return of Antti Raanta, he made his first start since November 27 2018 & looked every bit the same elite player the Coyotes traded for. Including this ridiculous toe save.
The bad news? Defenseman Nik Hjalmarsson might be on the shelf with a foot injury for awhile & he is a key piece to the Coyotes penalty kill and is also probably the Coyotes most reliable "defensive" defenseman.
The Coyotes will play on the road against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and you can hear that game on Fox Sports 910.