Coyotes Emerging As Elite Defensive Team

GLENDALE --Ten games into the new season, the Coyotes have emerged as one of the better defensive teams in the NHL. And now that they're scoring goals in bunches after an early-season drought, positive results are pouring in.
Arizona began the season 1-4-0 but after routing Tampa Bay, 7-1, on Saturday night, the team's record stands at a respectable 5-5-0, and a renewed optimism around Gila River Arena on game days and practice days is palpable.

Solid goaltending, effective penalty killing and a commitment by defensemen and forwards to "protect the house" all have keyed Arizona's stinginess in the first 10 games. The Coyotes have given up just 20 goals, which is tied with New Jersey for the fewest goals allowed by an NHL team. If you discount five goals scored by Winnipeg on Oct. 20, Arizona has allowed just 15 goals in nine games. Furthermore, the Coyotes are allowing just 28.2 shots on goal per game, which ranks tied for fourth fewest in the League.
Defenseman Kevin Connauton summed it up best:
"As a group, our forwards, 'D' and goalies are working hard and working together, and we're really focused on keeping the puck out of our net," Connauton said.

With essentially the same defensive personnel back from last season, the Coyotes clearly have fully transitioned to Head Coach Rick Tocchet's "play more offense/less defense" philosophy. Simply put, they are succeeding in their goal to transition the puck out of the defensive zone as quickly as possible. Success in the face-off circles - they've won 51.0 percent of the draws in the defensive zone and 54.3 percent in the neutral zone - has helped that cause.
Goalies Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper have shined in net. They've combined to stop 262 of 281 shots. That's a .932 save percentage.
"They're giving us a chance to win every night," Tocchet said. "That's the key."
Defenseman Alex Goligoski agrees.
"With those two guys, it doesn't matter who's in there," Goligoski said. "We're going to go play the same way in front of them and we have a lot of confidence in both of them. They're both doing the same things as far as breakouts and where to move pucks. They both communicate really well and they've both been awesome to start the season."

Coyotes coaches do not mandate blocking shots; Arizona ranks 27th in the NHL with just 128. The coaches prefer defenders allow Raanta and Kuemper clear views of shots, preferably taken from the outside. The focus is more on clearing rebounds. Even with this strategy, opponents are averaging just 28.2 shots on goals per game, which ranks fifth in the NHL.
Arizona's penalty-killing units have thrived over 10 games, and the team is second-best in the League with an 89.2 percent success rate. Foes have tallied just three power-play goals against the Coyotes. Meanwhile, Arizona has scored a League-high five short-handed goals.
Forwards Michael Grabner, Brad Richardson, Josh Archibald and Lawson Crouse have complemented the defensemen well on the PK. Grabner and Richardson have four goals between them this season and all four are shorties. One of Crouse's two goals this season has come while killing a penalty.

"We're taking pride in it which is nice," Tocchet said. "There's a long way to go but I like the way they're doing it. A plus is the goaltenders … they're probably our best PK guys."
Raanta's success has been expected given how he played over the final three months of last season when healthy. Kuemper's success has been a mild yet pleasant surprise based on his unsteady play last season after coming to the Coyotes via a trade with Los Angeles.
"I don't think I lost any confidence," Kuemper said when asked about his 2-6-2 record and .899 save percentage in 10 games with Arizona last season. "It was a little bit of adjusting when I first got here, but now I'm comfortable with everyone and just going out there and playing my game."

With 72 games to go the Coyotes are hoping to keep up their tight defense.
"All of us feel very comfortable playing in front of Raanta and Kuemper," captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. "We all know if we screw up out there we're going to get help from them. You can play a different game when you know you have a goalie that's feeling it behind you. You can put more pressure on the other team. Having said that, I think we've given up too many Grade A chances every night so we're going to have to clean that up. There's still a long season ahead of us."