Before a sparse crowd in Sunrise, Florida, the Coyotes were on their front skates and leaning forward in an impressive performance against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The ‘Yotes played tight defense and made it a point to move as 5-man units, giving the home town boys very little room to maneuver.
That pre-planned tactic was critical in shutting down Florida’s big guns, and the shorter shifts (and thus more energy) helped the desert dogs kill the only penalty assessed in period one.
It was fun to watch the Coyotes’ attackers come back into the “D” zone to help their defensemen protect the house and then move forward when needed, keeping constant pressure on the highly-skilled and dangerous Panthers’ forwards.