Trying to find a successful path from its current Pacific Division standing of 3-4-3, the Phoenix Coyotes attempted to confront two critical concerns Wednesday at home against Nashville.
First, injuries, and the Coyotes finally hit the ice with a healthy squad. Just 10 players skated in the 10 games before the Predators contest, and forward Martin Hanzal (lower back pain) appeared in his first game since Oct. 17 at Anaheim. Plus, Coach Dave Tippett sought to address the Coyotes' scoring drought. Through its opening 10 games, Phoenix scored 23 goals and that tied Nashville for last goals in the Western Conference.
Then, defenseman Ed Jovanovski took care of the scoring. The veteran blue liner recorded his first NHL career "hat trick" with goals in each of the three periods. Previously, Jovanovski scored two in a game five times in his career, and the last came on Jan. 15, 2007 against the Blues. The "hat trick" was also the first by a franchise defenseman, and that dates to the 1979-80 season when the team was located in Winnipeg. That effort carried the Coyotes to a 4-3 win before 6,761 at Jobing.Com Arena.
The dilemma of scor ...
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Article written by Mark Brown
Ed Jovanovski, Coyotes Solve Scoring Drought
November 3rd, 2010 by Mark Brown Leave a reply »
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