Coyotes’ Cooley & Schmaltz Among Positives From Game 1

“Obviously, we don’t want to take seven penalties a night,” Schmaltz said. “We’ve been doing that for three preseason games and now [Friday]. We’ve got to stay out of the box, but you know, we found a way. We dug deep and that’s what good teams do.”

Schmaltz won critical board battles to get puck retrievals on power plays and kept the Coyotes in the game. That’s not to say his two other linemates didn’t do well, as Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton performed to expectations. Along with Schmaltz’s goal and assist, Keller added two assists on the night; Hayton was scoreless but played a vital role throughout the game. Nearly every time they were on the ice, a chance was created by one of them, and it was great to see their success late last season overlap into 2023-24. Assuming this line continues to play together, good things should happen throughout the entirety of the season.

Cooley Was as Advertised in Career Debut

The immense impact of Cooley was seen in the preseason with his ridiculous goal in the Global Series in Australia. Not only that, but he didn’t look like a rookie. Yes, he had a few hiccups like each rookie does, but coming into his career debut, the lights were on the Pittsburgh native to continue his success from the preseason.

Cooley kicked off the game with a second assist on the power play which saw Sean Durzi delivering one home. However, it was the second assist that got the league’s attention. With the game on the line, the Coyotes had a power play that seemed to be their final chance to tie the game up, Cooley stepped up and gave a no-look pass to Schmaltz who sealed one past Akira Schmid. It’s one thing to make this play as a rookie, but to make it in his first career game says a lot about who Cooley could be as a player.

“It’s kind of hard not to think about all the things going on,” he said. “But honestly, I thought I did a pretty good job of staying focused, not paying attention too much to the outside noise and just honestly trying to enjoy and have fun and help the team win. And, you know, that’s kind of what happened tonight. When I first stepped on the ice, no bucket, you’re a little bit nervous. You don’t want to fall, you don’t want to whiff on a puck. But I think once you get that first shift over with, you kind of settle in a little bit and the nerves kind of go away and it’s just another hockey game.”

Defense Contributed Big-Time Throughout

While the Coyotes had some bright spots going for them last season, one of the main drawbacks was scoring. Most of the time, it was the first line getting the ball rolling but they needed more support on the backend. The Coyotes had very few goals from defensemen last season, with only 33. With that, they had to rely heavily on their forwards, which isn’t a recipe for success and was a key reason they finished seventh in the Central Division.

The game against the Devils changed with two goals from a defenseman, the first coming from the newcomer Matt Dumba and the other from Durzi. It was a fresh sight for a team that has struggled on that side of the puck, and the new additions general manager (GM) Bill Armstrong made are already paying dividends. Naturally, it’s easy to get excited by the effort of the two, but seeing consistency will be vital. Not just having it happen in one game, but regularly.

Coyotes Take on Rangers Next

Kicking off the 2023-24 season with a win is huge, especially in a game where most counted them out before the puck was even dropped. Not only that, but it was a team effort; everyone who played made a difference, and the 4-3 outcome showed that. Now they play the New York Rangers next, and the biggest thing they’ll have to do is continue the consistency. Stacking wins on wins will be paramount, especially on this road trip, which sees them play three playoff teams from last season.