Edmonton Game In Progress

Been a real solid game so far for the Coyotes. The one huge thing I can see from this game is the line combinations. Some guys are starting to play with some jump in their game and meshing well with their linemates. Lombardi is looking more and more comfortable in a Coyotes uniform. Mueller is having some tough luck this year, Roloson just robbed him on a hard pass from Upshall. Speaking of Upshall, he is such a shot of energy to every line he is on. Sauer is wearing the "A" with very good reason. I will have a few blogs coming this weekend finishing up the young players finishing up strong, free agency talk, and the Coyotes direction from here on out.

It's Mueller Time

This season has been a series of ups and downs for the talented forward, Peter Mueller. Besides a few injuries for Mueller, he has really struggled on the ice. Coming off a very impressive rookie year, Mueller is in the famed sophomore slump with only 12 goals. Throughout the season Mueller has shown signs of breaking out, but nothing consistent. This year will be a good learning lesson for Peter, but time will tell whether he actually learned anything.
At this point in the year, Mueller needs to settle down and find his comfort zone. Playing him on a top line, possibly back with Doan more consistently will give him the space he needs right now. Mueller needs to use his strong shot more and not think “pass first” all the time. Many times this year, Mueller would give up a shot to make the perfect pass. Like the rest of the Coyotes this season, one too many passes were made in offensive zone failures. Another confidence booster, and need for Mueller, is to man the point on the power play. This will allow Mueller to gain more confidence in that shot by forcing him to take shots at the point. Mueller is the type of player that can dominate one stat for a season. Last year I thought that Mueller would turn into a nice assist winger, the likes of Ales Hemsky. After the struggles this season, Mueller’s shot has been impressive despite the problems of hitting the net.
With a nice vote of confidence by coach Gretzky, Mueller should get a very good opportunity to finish the season strong. The real key is putting Mueller back with Doan, and letting him get to a comfort zone with Doan for the remainder of the season. Doan will take some of the focus off of Mueller, while making some room from his size. That is step one, then the confidence will lead to some nice power play points. I love the Turris, Mueller, Doan line but we all know that Gretzky does not like to keep lines together for long.