When evaluating the Coyotes’ goaltending performance through the first five games of the season, remember the ultimate goal. This is a team constructed to finish near the bottom of the standings, if not at the bottom. There are few guys more important to achieving that goal than the guys in goal. That said, it’s hard for a coach to keep...

I can’t remember a time when Phoenix’s major professional sports scene was such a study in extremes. On the hot end of the thermometer, the Suns and Mercury made it to the NBA and WNBA finals, respectively, and the Cardinals are the only undefeated team in the NFL; looking very much like Super Bowl contenders. On the frigid end of...

The home opener was going so well. Clayton Keller was doing his usual thing against his hometown team, the Coyotes weren’t allowing many chances in front of Carter Hutton and the power play was clicking. When Lawson Crouse scored just five seconds after Pavel Buchnevich’s match penalty for headbutting him had expired to give the Coyotes a 2-1 lead early...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you tuned into the season opener, still believing that a 5-1 preseason record meant something, the Coyotes sure served up an eye-opening clarification. The Blue Jackets are going to be one of the NHL’s worst teams this season. Trade-deadline and offseason purges reduced the team to such rubble that even insiders are predicting a bottom-of-the-barrel season. You never would have known it on Thursday at Nationwide Arena. Columbus scored early, Columbus scored often, and the cannon blasts just kept coming. The Jackets’ 8-2 win represented the most goals they have scored in a season opener. The six-goal margin of victory was also their greatest in a season opener. Not to be outdone, this was also the…

When you talk to people in André Tourigny’s past, the attribute they cite most often is his ability to build relationships. “Sometimes, it’s just about honesty,” said former Coyote Alex Tanguay, who played for the Avalanche while Tourigny was an assistant coach there for two seasons. “You always want an honest answer from your coach. It might not be the...

Coyotes goalie Carter Hutton has faced challenged for his entire hockey career. His latest may be his greatest yet.

The Coyotes are not hiding their plans. They are visible to all; laid bare by the dizzying array of transactions that GM Bill Armstrong made this offseason, and the dizzying array of departures he allowed from last season’s roster. Gone are captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson, starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper, backup goalie Antti Raanta, leading assist man Conor Garland, two-way center Christian...