NHL COMMENTARY
By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, February 4, 2014

GLENDALE, Ariz. – With the Olympic break just days away, every team in the National Hockey League finds itself trying to get some needed standings points by the end of the week.

Along that line, Dallas arrived at Jobing.com Arena Tuesday looking to extend it’s current hot streak, while the Phoenix Coyotes hoped to build on a much-needed win last Saturday against Pittsburgh.

Dallas came in as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, despite what its overall record may indicate. Since Jan. 14, the Stars have gone 6-3-2 after halting a six-game losing streak with a win over Edmonton.

It’s worth noting that the Stars’ wins in that stretch included decisions over Anaheim, Minnesota, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and, on Tuesday, over Phoenix by a 3-1 count.

Asked about the Stars’ recent turnaround, Antoine Roussel, who scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, said it was a matter of “getting well.”

“And increasing our tenacity,” Roussel said. “That’s what kept us in the game tonight, “

Ryan Garbutt added, “We’ve just been playing hard every night, using our speed and the guys are playing to the best of their abilities, and having fun at the same time.

“Everybody’s working hard every night, and it’s fun to be a part of it.”

Stars Coach Lindy Ruff didn’t address his team’s recent success precisely, but said, “We’ve just been able to battle through. Tonight, we had two teams that are very similar. We’re in a tight game and somebody is going to take advantage of an opportunity and win the game.”

It made for an interesting matchup with the Coyotes, who have had their own issues of late – lack of scoring and a leaky defense in particular.

The 12,257 in attendance watched a close-checking defensive affair until Antoine Vermette pushed an unassisted shot from the slot through Karl Lehtonen’s 5-hole to put the Coyotes up 1-0 midway through the second period. Two and a half minutes later, Shawn Horcoff flipped a rebound past Mike Smith on the power play, and the game was again deadlocked at 1-1.

Dallas outshot the Coyotes 31-18 after two periods, and the shooting advantage paid off early in the third period when Antoine Roussel ratted the puck around the pipes and past Smith to put the Stars ahead to stay at .2-1.

“That first period was a little sloppy on both sides,” Ruff said. “I thought it was just disjointed play. In the second and third periods, we really turned the corner.”

A sloppy empty-net tally by Ryan Garbutt with 26 seconds left gave Dallas a 3-1 win. Phoenix pulled Smith with 1:12 to play, and the shot by Garbutt from his own blue line barely crossed the goal line and didn’t have enough steam to hit the back of the net. But they all count, right?

New image?
Elsewhere, in Coyotes news, the team announced earlier this week plans to bow to the whims of the Glendale City Council and rename themselves the Arizona Coyotes next season, along with yet to be determined marketing changes. One thing is known for sure – the new owners are bringing back the old Southwest/Mayan-styled jerseys from the mid-1990s as throwback gear.

While there’s nothing wrong with the current Coyotes garb, it’s apparent that the new owners want to try and eradicate the bankruptcy/Wayne Gretzky coaching/NHL ownership period image. That’s understandable.

Changing the name from Phoenix to Arizona is senseless. The state name only works in areas like the Twin Cities or Raleigh, N.C., where the Hurricanes reside. Arizona could be anywhere in the state (well, some think that does apply to Glendale). People tend to know where Phoenix is, and as a marketing focal point, there was no logical reason to change it.

Teams like the NFL Cardinals and the NL Diamondbacks like to claim that by using the state name, “we represent the whole state.” Maybe. But it hasn’t done anything to cure the transient fan bases for Valley pro teams with the exception of the NBA Suns.

Generic marketing just isn’t a logical move for a market so identifiable by the largest city. Seems like a desperate move. We’ll see how well it works.

Daniel Dullum covers the NHL for SportsTalk.

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