Mike Smith can't do it by himself. May it be duly noted that he has tried, to no avail. Making 58 saves in the Columbus Blue Jackets shootout loss Saturday night was an example of that, but he needs help.
In the last nine games, six have gone to overtime. The Arizona Coyotes' record over that span shows one win and three losses in overtime, and one win and a loss in shootouts.
The numbers don't lie
When you get down to shots on goal, you begin to see where this team is failing miserably. Try 37.8 shots on goal per game in the last 10 games. That is a statistic which should have GM John Chayka and V.P. of Hockey Operations Dave Tippett awake most every night trying to examine what is wrong with their team and what to do about it.
The Coyotes have a 8-11-4 record for 20 points through 23 games and are going nowhere fast. They only exceed the lowly Colorado Avalanche who have 19 points in their 23 games, placing them in 29th place in the NHL.
Knowing the competitive nature of both Chayka and Tippett, something must be done to shake up this team if they intend to qualify for the playoffs.
If we all remember last season, the lowest point total in the tough Western Conference to qualify for the playoffs was achieved by the Minnesota Wild with 87. At the current Coyotes' pace, it will put them well short of that number, meaning they will miss the post-season for the fifth straight season.
The Coyotes' home attendance record shows the team is not drawing well with only 12,921 fans per game, which puts them 28th in the NHL. If the team wants a new arena, filling Gila River Arena to 75.5 per cent capacity is not going to make the owners happy or attract more fans to games.
Factor in that the Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns are not playing very well, and it's easy to see that the Arizona Coyotes are missing their opportunity to draw fans by playing winning hockey.
The Coyotes' December schedule is crucial in that the team plays 15 games in 31 days, including three days off for the Christmas holiday.
The Coyotes' Christmas list should include the following:
1.) A replacement center to fill in for Brad Richardson, whose play is sorely missed. His return date is still in question, being down with two fractured bones in his leg. Michael Stone may bring back a good return to fill the gap at center ice. Stone signed a one-year four million dollar contract, and the emergence of young Anthony DeAngelo on the blueline could make him expendable.
2.) Some better play from expensive ($5.475 million for five years) free agent defenseman Alex Goligoski. He ranks dead last along with Martin Hanzal in the +/- statistic, both with a poor -9. Goligoski's Corsi For percent of 42.1 puts him 19th on the team. He needs to step up his play bigtime.
3). Either play Anthony Duclair more with his buddy Max Domi to get him going again in the scoring column, or send him down to the AHL Tucson affiliate to get him out of his funk. Why not bring hot scoring Brendan Perlini (11 goals, 16 games) up for a look? Duclair's one goal, three assists in 23 games is not helping the team.
4.) Decide what to do with the log-jam of players on the roster playing defense. Right now the team is carrying eight blue-liners and it's great to have replacement players when injuries occur, but seven should be plenty. The most expendable D-man now might be Kevin Connauton, who has only played eight games this season. Trading him along with a prospect could possibly help bring a center to the desert.
5.) As the trade deadline approaches both Chayka (who is not afraid to swing a deal) and Tippett need to do some soul searching as to how to get their team playing better. On Chayka's side he will assuredly seek out options to improve the team's personnel. On Tippett's side his disgust is obvious. The team has lost the lead in seven of their last ten games, which is not encouraging. He has mentioned repeatedly about the team's poor puck possession and playing in their own end too long. Now he needs to figure out how to remedy it.
He continues to criticize his team's lack of competing at the level expected. His frustration can only lead to players being traded or benched. He's not afraid to sit a player down to bring home the point that his play is subpar.
Final analysis
When a team is not playing well, it is the management and coaching staff's job to try and fix it. They aren't on the ice competing every game, and can only do so much.
This team is still young, and will only get better with time.
But, how much time is left for the Arizona Coyotes to put more wins on the scoreboard and play better?
By the end of the month, we should have the answer to that question.