Dubnyk, Coyotes respond in big way to beat L.A.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Coyotes goalie Devan Dubnyk wore four jerseys in the past nine months, but before Saturday's surprise start against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, he hadn't played a single NHL game since Jan. 24.
"It's been a roller coaster, mostly slowing down for the last little while for me," Dubnyk said after he backstopped the Coyotes to a 3-2, overtime win with 24 saves, including the last 18 Kings shots he faced. "It's a long time between and it's really nice to get that first one, especially in a game where we certainly deserved it."
The Coyotes needed a response after an abysmal performance in a season-opening, 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday at Gila River Arena. After that game, coach Dave Tippett made it clear the problems started with goalie Mike Smith, who allowed a pair of soft goals in the first period to put the Coyotes behind the 8-ball.
On Thursday, Tippett talked of the need for a bounce-back game from his franchise goalie, but before Saturday's game he surprised everyone when he named Dubnyk the starter.
"I wanted to get Dubnyk in one of these first four games at home and this was a good time to do it," Tippett succinctly said.
Dubnyk didn't get off to a good start in his first game since signing with the Coyotes in the offseason. L.A. scored on its first shot when Tanner Pearson picked Lauri Korpikoski's pocket in high slot. Worse yet, the second Kings goal was a soft one off the stick of Jeff Carter that went between Dubnyk's arm and blocker, giving L.A. a 2-0 lead at the 12:57 mark.
It looked like the Coyotes' first-period woes from Thursday would carry over.
"I was just pushing a little too hard," Dubnyk said. "Just squeezed a little too much and that's exactly what happens when you squeeze; the shots find a way through you because you're a little too tense. I've played enough games where I just told myself to relax and be patient."
It helped Dubnyk's cause that the Coyotes started dominating perhaps the best possession team in the NHL from that point on. After Carter's goal, L.A. managed just five shots over the next 27 minutes and at one point, the Coyotes held a 35-15 edge.
"I thought our work ethic was really good. We were way more poised with the puck than we were the other night," Tippett said. "Our defensemen (got the) puck moving out of our zone; neutral zone regroups were better. We were just better in a lot of those areas tonight and it showed up on the scoreboard."
To list the Coyotes who had bounce-back games would be too difficult since captain Shane Doan was about the only one who approached flawless on Thursday. But a few warrant mention.
Center Martin Hanzal hounded Kings star center Anze Kopitar all night, holding him off the scoresheet and winning 21 of 30 faceoffs.
Martin Erat drove possession all night while delivering three hits and finishing plus-1.
Defenseman Keith Yandle set up every Coyotes goal, including a beauty of a stretch pass to Mikkel Boedker (two goals in two games) for the game-tying goal midway through the second period.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson atoned for a sloppy game on Thursday with the game-winning goal on a power play in overtime -- one on which he took his time to pick his spot up high with Doan's large derriere blocking out the light in front of goalie Jonathan Quick.
"I took a couple bad shots there in the beginning of that power play," Ekman-Larsson said. "It was a great screen by Doaner in front there. I had a lot of net to work with."
The Coyotes wouldn't have reached that point if Dubnyk hadn't been strong down the stretch when L.A. made a push. His best save came with about 11 seconds left in regulation when he stopped Tyler Toffoli on a partial breakaway.
Tippett hasn't decided whether he'll go back to Smith or if Dubnyk will get a second straight start when his former team, Edmonton, comes to town on Wednesday.
"Smitty got a real hard work day today which was good for him so we'll just see where it goes," Tippett said.
One the one hand, two straight starts for the backup would drive home the message that Smith has to be much better than he was on Thursday for this team to have a chance this season. On the flip side, how much do you want to mess with the mind of your franchise player?
"We've got two practices before our next game," Tippett said, shutting down the question while ramping up the speculation.