Chicago Blackhawks' Eye On The Enemy: 'Howlin Hockey (Arizona Coyotes)
The Chicago Blackhawks will meet the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night for their first trip to Glendale this season
The Chicago Blackhawks’ six-game road trip continues as Chicago invades the desert in hopes of a successful trip out West.
In the last meeting between the Blackhawks and Coyotes, Chicago managed to shut out the struggling ‘Yotes in a 4-0 victory. The 22-save effort from Scott Darling came over a month ago, and a lot has transpired since.
If we flashback to December 6 (the most recent matchup), the Blackhawks were in the driver’s seat of the Central Division and the Western Conference.
Chicago has since digressed into a game of catchup, with the Minnesota Wild now dominating the Central.
Chicago had previously struggled with getting off to good starts in games, but now the issue has been finishing off teams. Goaltending has been sub-par and lack of depth has truly exposed the Blackhawks as a team in need of a serious boost.
The Arizona Coyotes have continued their rebuilding this year and remain at the very bottom of the Pacific Division. However, Arizona has played rather well as of late, riding a three-game win streak into the All-Star break.
It’s nothing to get your hopes up for this year if you’re a Coyotes fan, but the future of the team is absolutely promising with the plethora of young talent the organization possesses. Without a doubt, the Coyotes are trending in the right direction despite owning the second-worst record in the league, and before long we may see Arizona take off similarly to how the Toronto Maple Leafs have this year.
Assisting me with this week’s “Eye on the Enemy” is Alex Temes, a contributor for Howlin’ Hockey here on FanSided. Alex was kind enough to offer his input on the Arizona Coyotes’ recent success as well as what the future holds for the team
It’s time to cross enemy lines once again ahead of Thursday night’s matchup between our Chicago Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes.
Q&A with Alex Teme of ‘Howlin Hockey
The ‘Yotes played pretty well leading up to the All-Star break. What’s been going right?
AT: I think it’s been a combination of a few things. The defense is finally playing a cohesive game, which Coyotes fans have not seen all year. Part of that may have been Dave Tippett‘s doing his best impersonation of Joel Quenneville “line-blending”, but I also think that Michael Stone and Alex Goligoski have really turned it around over the two weeks or so.
Mike Smith has been playing absolutely phenomenally day in and day out, and the forward corps has been energized by the new additions, whether by callups in Brendan Perlini and Christian Fischer or by the acquisition of Alexander Burmistrov.
I think all of those together has finally earned the team a few well-deserved wins.
Who in the Coyotes organization looks to have the brightest future with the team?
blackhawks
Blackhawk Up 1 dChicago Blackhawks Alum James Wisniewski Signs With Chicago Wolves
More headlines around FanSided:
1 d - NHL Power Rankings: Chicago Blackhawks Still Contending2d - Chicago Blackhawks Roundtable: Team Worries And All-Star Wrapup2d - Chicago Blackhawks' Prospects Have Been Trade Bait All Year2d - Chicago Blackhawks Recall Defenseman Gustav Forsling3d - NHL All-Star Game's Central Division Goalies Stink In L.A.More News at Blackhawk Up
AT: I think when you take a wide angle view of the whole organization, a lot of people have bright futures.
Some of that talent pool the team has amassed is finally bleeding onto the NHL squad, but I believe, as many Coyotes fans do, that the team’s best prospect has yet to wear a Coyotes sweater.
Clayton Keller had a phenomenal World Juniors showing January, leading the U.S. to a gold medal. He’s done pretty well at Boston University this season and many analysts have likened him to Patrick Kane.
If Keller can even come close to what Kane has done for Chicago, then Keller will be a huge instrument in next season’s push out of the Pacific Division’s gutter.
How big has Mike Smith’s emergence been for the team?
AT: Mike Smith’s resurgence has been huge. If Smitty were to be having the same kind of season he’s had the last three or so years, the Coyotes would be worse than Colorado, or at least in the same ballpark.
Smith has kept this team competitive when no other part of the team was working. His lateral movement is back to its 2011-12 playoff-run level, and his demeanor in-game has seen an obvious shift this season. For all of his puck-handling mishaps, he has been the Coyotes’ best asset this season so far.
Where do you see the team in the next five years as the rebuild continues?
AT: I think this team is hard to predict. Coming into the season, I thought the Coyotes might have a shot at a 8 seed or be one of the last teams out on the playoff bubble.
Many Coyotes fans and writers felt Dylan Strome would move along and that Nick Merkley would progress in juniors, but that has not happened just yet. Nonetheless, the talent pool Arizona has amassed is so strong (Perlini, Fischer, Kyle Wood, Clayton Keller, etc) that whether the Coyotes get a high draft pick and/or sell heavily at the deadline this year, the future will still be very bright.
Five years from now, the Arizona Coyotes will be a talented, consistent playoff team with a new stadium in a good part of town and a pipeline relationship with a growing NCAA talent pool at Arizona State University.
What’s your prediction for Thursday’s game against the ‘Hawks?
AT: I haven’t watched a ton of the Blackhawks this season (despite living in Chicago), but from what I’ve seen, things seem to be a little rockier than normal.
It feels like the ’Hawks have been somewhat bipolar recently, and I know ’Hawks fans will scoff at this, but the Coyotes have been really improving and developing a somewhat consistent game.
I do think ’Hawks fans will see some of the Coyotes roster’s flaws, but they will also see some of the promise the Coyotes have developing.
Ultimately, I think the game will be a close Chicago win, say a 4-3 or 3-2 kind of score, give or take an empty-netter.
More from Blackhawk Up
This article originally appeared on 
