The Florida Panthers squash the Phoenix Coyotes 5-2 in what only can be described as a lackluster effort by a Coyotes team desperate for wins.

The key to the game was pretty simple – the Panthers showed up to play and only certain members of the Coyotes did. The team might have well stayed on those golf courses, those tennis courts, and those horse tracks because hockey was the furthest from their minds.

The Coyotes absolutely left Curtis Joseph hanging out to dry in a disappointing performance that, in my mind, was the worst played game in recent memory. The team worked so hard to bring themselves back from the dead to .500 only to blow it two months later.

The same individuals showed up to play, but without everyone doing the little things that it takes to win hockey games, finishing checks to gain puck possession (not just hitting for the sake of hitting), parking their backsides in front of the net (not just firing the puck from the point each shift), or winning the battles along the boards (not being physically dominated), victory is just hope.

When the team played with that intensity, with that desire to win, victories were easy to come by. Even when the team had a rough go of it, they found ways to win.

Now, just like they started the season back in October, are finding ways to lose.

Fitting to say the least.

It's too bad; they had something, but too bad it didn't stick.

In the new salary cap era of the NHL, the current lineup of the Phoenix Coyotes will not be around long. Hopefully, the changes will solidify the group for a future run.

In the days ahead, and I believe it will happen sooner than later, management will make key decisions regarding the status of certain players on this hockey club.

Original post by PB and software by Elliott Back

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