Coyotes Let It Slip Away, Now Must Win It Back

The Phoenix Coyotes had done everything right.

They had held every Mighty Duck forward besides Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne without a goal in the first five games of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. They had won a game on the road, which erased the Ducks’ home-ice advantage. On Sunday, in Game 6, they ended an 0-for-16 power play slump and erased a two-goal deficit despite losing forward Jeremy Roenick to an injured left knee.

Yet, they couldn’t win a game that could have been theirs. Should have been theirs. They should be planning their second-round strategy. Instead, because of their 3-2 overtime loss to the Ducks at America West Arena, they face a decisive seventh game Tuesday in Anaheim.

“We let it slip away, no doubt about it,” Coyote center Bob Corkum said.

The defeat exacted a significant toll in the loss of Roenick, who had shared the team scoring lead with two goals and six points. A preliminary examination by the Coyotes’ team doctor indicated Roenick had not damaged his anterior cruciate ligament, but a more precise diagnosis was not expected until today.

The psychological toll of squandering a chance to win their first playoff series in their new city has yet to be determined. That may prove even greater than the loss of Roenick.

“We’ve got to play our game like we know we can,” center Cliff Ronning said. “We feel our depth will do it.”

But that depth up front, which figured to give them an edge because of the Ducks’ heavy dependence on the Kariya-Steve Rucchin-Selanne line, has yet to make the difference in this series.

Roenick’s departure didn’t immediately deplete the Coyote offense. They scored both of their goals after Roenick had left the game, and they had the Ducks gasping in the third period, forcing to resort to icing the puck to alleviate Phoenix’s pressure.

When the Ducks inexplicably left Keith Tkachuk open in the slot for the game-tying power-play goal with 2:16 left in the third period, the Coyotes could have ridden the wave of noise created by the white-shirted crowd and claimed the game--and the series.

“We really worked hard and gave ourselves a chance to win,” Phoenix Coach Don Hay said.

They let that chance go to waste.

“We were on a high after tying it up late,” Tkachuk said. “Unfortunately, they got the goal that made the difference. . . . They were physical, but we kind of stood around in the first period and let them play. We’ve got to take it to them and make them make mistakes.”

Among the Coyote forwards, only Tkachuk (six goals) and left wing Darrin Shannon (three goals, four points) have showed the fire necessary to fight through checks and find ways to score when no easy avenue is apparent. Craig Janney, known as a soft player, has been invisible, except for his pass to Tkachuk on the Coyotes’ tying goal Sunday.

“You have to get through adversity,” Ronning said.

That’s one area in which the Ducks hold an edge. After a dismal effort in Game 5, and after failing to hold a 2-0 lead Sunday, they managed to prolong their playoff run.

“They showed character coming into our building and winning a game and we did the same to them,” Duck defenseman J.J. Daigneault said. “When we started the series we expected it to be long. Both teams have equal strength.”

Said Hay: “They came out hard today and we responded, and then we came out hard, and they responded. These are two evenly matched teams, and it’s going to go to the wire.”

The Coyotes will probably have to go there without Roenick. “It’s a tough loss and a key guy, but I see it as an opportunity for individuals to step up,” Tkachuk said. “It comes down to one game. Whatever it takes, we’ve got to do.”