Late goal sinks Coyotes

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

Shane Doan (19) attempts to score against Kings goalkeeper Stephane Fiset (35) while Doan's teammate Rick Tocchet (92) jumps out of the way.

By Bob McManaman
March 22, 1998

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - With the kind of luck Jim Schoenfeld has been having, the weary head coach of the Coyotes should feel fortunate that the cute little flowers on the potted plant-patterned tie he was wearing didn't shrivel up and die.

The way the past couple of months have gone, Schoenfeld must be prepared for anything by now. It's gotten that bad.

Schoenfeld's Coyotes, what's left of them anyway, gave yet another gutsy, hard-working effort here on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. For the umpteenth time, they played well enough to win.

But, for the ninth time in 12 games since the Olympic break, the Coyotes fell short and lost again, this time by a 3-2 margin at the Great Western Forum.

"This team has no luck. Absolutely no luck," a worn-out looking Jeremy Roenick said afterward, his elbows on his knees and his palms cupping his face. "It's unbelievable. I've never been around anything like this before.

"You work your (butt) off, you give it everything you've got, you play well, and yet you still get nothing to show for it. It's almost like we're cursed or something."

Maybe they are.

Consider the Kings' game-winning goal, a fluke if there ever was one.

It was a relatively harmless slap shot from about 40 feet. The man who shot, defenseman Sean O'Donnell, had scored only once in 66 previous games. The man who was assigned to stop it, backup goalie Jimmy Waite, has turned shots like that away a gazillion times. In his sleep.

But with the Kings' Sandy Moger and the Coyotes' Keith Carney serving as semi-screens in front, the puck found the net with 7:19 left to play and that was that.

"The guys are doing everything we're asking them to do," Schoenfeld said. "We just seem to find a way to not win the hockey game, whether it's a goal like the third goal they scored or us missing an open net late in the game.

"The guys taking the ice are playing as hard as they can play. They're creating a lot of offensive opportunities. We're not giving up much, defensively. But we're like one goal short and when it's all said and done, the only thing that matters tomorrow is who won and who lost.

"People might see it differently, but I've never seen a team work this hard for this long without getting rewarded for it. Not like this crew, when you get nothing for it and you come back the next night and you give the same damn effort. It might sound ridiculous, but it would be hard for me not to be very proud of them."

The Coyotes (26-31-12), who were in danger of being tied for seventh place by Edmonton for what essentially amounts to the final two playoff spots in the West, must regroup and try to snap a three-game losing skid tonight when they meeting the visiting San Jose Sharks.

If they have enough bodies to field a team, that is.

After beginning Saturday's game with 10 injured players missing from the lineup, the Coyotes lost yet another one when rookie center Daniel Briere suffered an apparent separated right shoulder midway through the final period that will keep him out two weeks.

He also becomes the team's fourth center to be injured in four games.

Craig Janney suffered strained knee ligaments last Saturday; Bob Corkum suffered a concussion Monday; Juha Ylonen suffered a fractured tibia Thursday and now Briere is lost, on the same day he scored his first NHL goal, no less.

To fill the void, the Coyotes called up wing Jocelyn Lemieuz from Long Beach of the International Hockey League.

"I don't even know who hit me," Briere said. "I just went into the corner, got checked by someone, and was squeezed against the boards. It didn't hurt, but then I started skating back to the bench and I lost all feeling in the shoulder."

As a result, the Coyotes played the final half of the period with just nine forwards. Right wing Jim Cummins got himself tossed in the first period for trying to rearrange Ian Laperriere's face.

But the short-handed Coyotes gave it a go. They pestered goalie Stephane Fiset (24 saves) with everything they had, including several last-ditch attempts in the waning moments while they enjoyed a six-on-four advantage.

"I had a whack at one," defenseman Teppo Numminen said.

"Yeah, I had a shot, too," echoed Roenick.

After the Kings (32-25-11) built a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Rob Blake, his 20th to tie a career high, and Glen Murray, his 24th, the Coyotes made a run.

It only lasted 29 seconds, but it was long enough to tie the score heading into the final period. First, Oleg Tverdovsky netted his first goal in 14 games with a power play score at 9:10. Then Briere, one-timing a pass from Mike Gartner, got his first goal at 9:39.