Postseason Traditions Continue for Coyotes

The fun, bouncy ritual of the whiteout wasn’t the only tradition to follow the Winnipeg Jets all the way to their new home in Phoenix.

Unfortunately, for the Coyotes, playoff futility came along too, probably hidden away in the baggage compartment.

As the Jets, they won only two playoff series in 13 attempts. Now, the Jets-Coyotes are two-for-14--not a great power play but a true indicator of postseason frustration.

The hard-fought Western Conference quarterfinal series--clinched by the Ducks’ 3-0 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday at the Pond--was filled with memorable hockey, a handful of memorable plays and too many turning points to list after seven long games.

After it was over, the traditional handshake featured more special moments. Coyote center Cliff Ronning hugged the Ducks’ Paul Kariya. And injured Phoenix forward Jeremy Roenick, who missed Game 7 because of a torn knee ligament, hobbled down from the press box to make sure he was on the Coyote bench where, he too, could shake the hands of the Duck players.

“We just went through a tremendous battle,” said Roenick, who did a standout job keeping Kariya in check before his knee injury in Game 6.

“You’ve got to respect the work they put into this series and the work we put in this series. I have a tremendous amount of respect for everybody over there. We got beat by a good hockey team. Granted they have a lot of character and a lot of heart over there.

“I think it’s only proper that I finish it up with the handshake.”

The Coyotes agreed the series turned away from them Sunday.

“The season ends pretty quick. We had an opportunity to put them away in Game 6, but it was a game we let slip away,” Coach Don Hay said.

Said left wing Keith Tkachuk, who had a strong series: “I look at it as a very disappointing season for the Coyotes. They got the job done today. They played well. The big game for them was Game 6. That turned the series around.”

It could have been different, if Tkachuk’s shot went in instead of hitting the post in the first period.

“When Keith hit the post, we could have got back in it,” Hay said. “But we never did get back in it. The start got us back on our heels.

” . . . We just didn’t get it done tonight. I thought we did a [good] job on Kariya and [Teemu] Selanne. But their other guys stepped up and got big goals. The [Joe] Sacco goal a real back-breaker.”

The Ducks protected their lead with diligent defense, leaving the Coyotes to stare blankly at the ice or up at the scoreboard.

“Both teams played hard,” Hay said. “Both teams were physical. It was that type of game where there wasn’t a lot of play in either teams’ end. A lot of dumping in, dumping out. When they got the lead, they really protected it.”

Still, Hay declared the season a success, despite the series loss.

“We came a long way to changing the attitude . . . the Winnipeg Jet syndrome,” he said.