Coyotes at Jets
The Winnipeg Jets will have a new coach when they host the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday. "Entirely responsible. We’re all responsible," Winnipeg leading scorer Blake Wheeler told CBC News after Claude Noel was fired on Sunday. The Jets have lost five in a row - the latest a 6-3 decision to Columbus on Saturday - and hired Paul Maurice in an effort to turn the franchise into a winner.
Noel was hired for the 2011-12 season when the team relocated from Atlanta to Winnipeg, but couldn't win with a franchise that has made the playoffs once (2007) in its first 13 seasons. Wheeler wasn't the only player who took responsibility as Olli Jokinen told CBC News: "We let the coaching staff down. You can’t change 25 players." While Phoenix coach Dave Tippett doesn't appear to be on the hot seat, the Coyotes are 3-6-4 in their last 13 games - 1-4-0 in the last five. "Right now, we aren't very good, and we haven't been very good for a while," captain Shane Doan told reporters after Saturday's 5-3 loss to Anaheim.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona Plus (Phoenix), TSN-Winnipeg
ABOUT THE COYOTES (21-14-9): Phoenix is No. 6 in the NHL in scoring at 2.9 goals per game, but has only seven in its last five contests - all at home - while the penalty-killing unit yielded five goals in 15 chances during that span. "We're not a very cohesive group right now," Tippett told reporters. "When you chase games all the time, you look like an out-of-sort group, and that's where we are." With No. 1 goaltender Mike Smith struggling (1-5-3 in his last nine decisions), Tippett turned to backup Thomas Greiss, but he couldn't make it through Saturday's game after allowing four goals on 23 shots.
ABOUT THE JETS (19-23-5): Winnipeg's major problem appears to be defense as No. 1 goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (11-19-4, 3.14 goals-against average, .898 save percentage) hasn't played well while not getting much support. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who is also occasionally used at wing, has a team-best 25 assists and is second in points with 35, but is a minus-17 while playing a team-most 25:52 per game and is prone to turnovers. The Jets are adequate offensively with six players recording 10 or more goals led by Wheeler's 16, but the unit doesn't appear talented enough to carry the team by itself.
OVERTIME
1. Noel finished 80-79-18 with Winnipeg while Maurice was 460-457-68 with 99 ties in 1,084 games with Hartford, Toronto and two stints with Carolina. Maurice guided took the Hurricanes to the 2002 Stanley Cup final, where they lost to Detroit in five games.
2. Jets RW Evander Kane (14 goals, 25 points) missed Saturday's game and the previous two practices with a hand injury. He is questionable to play Monday.
3. The teams haven't met since Dec. 1, 2011, when Winnipeg snapped a six-game losing streak to Phoenix with a 1-0 victory on Bryan Little's goal.