It didn’t look like any veterans were within earshot when Coyotes coach Dave Tippett faced the media Friday morning to assess his team’s status on the brink of its next attempt to kick its losing habit.
“This is one of these games where you look at your team and your top players really have to come out and really be top players,” Tippett said. “You need everybody to pitch in, but we need our top players to take hold of a game like this and move our group forward.”
But that message must have worked its way back into the dressing room to the entire group as long-running leaders and fresh-faced rookies made a difference with captain Shane Doan the poster boy for the rejuvenated effort.