The Coyotes were down 2-0 and the Avs came out in game three and absolutely destroyed them.

Lucky for the good guys, Darcy Kuemper was up to the challenge. The Kuempster had 49 saves in the previous game, and if the Coyotes are going to have any chance of evening up the score, he is going to have to come through again today.

Over the first three games, the Avs have possessed the puck 62% of the time.

That is brutal. It is dominance to the level of needing a safe word.

Conventionally, it is thought that the Coyotes can't skate with the Avs and that the only way for a team like this to play a team like that is to collapse down low and to clog the neutral zone on transition.

Sadly, in the NHL this has the effect of making the games damn near unwatchable, and putting the entire onus of winning on a single player - the goalie.

I just do not buy into the idea that this is the best way to play. If you have the better goalie, why not rely on him enough to get less conservative on offense? Even playing how the Coyotes play, they have a very low chance of success, so why not open it up a bit and try to score more?

Its not like the Coyotes are a bad team. In games where they can control the last change, they should be getting the Hall line a lot more ice time. But the thing is, if they paired Hall and Dvorak, Keller and Stepan, and Kessel and Hatyon, they've got a lot of offence. Throw Garland on any one of those lines and you've got at least seven above average offensive players.

I'd like to see Tocchet use them more.

As it stands, the Coyotes are only getting roughly 40% of expected goals, which is a style of play that demands elite goaltending.

If the Coyotes try to bring the attack to the Avs, they will not only have the element of surprise, but they will actually have a better chance of winning.

If you don't believe me, consider this: the Coyotes have a .933 save percentage with Kuemper in net, and yet they only have a record of 4-3 with that level of goaltending.

If you essentially need a hall of fame performance from your goalie in order to earn a win, your style sucks.

I don't expect Tocchet to suddenly change his game plan, but the fact is, the Avalanche are handing him his lunch and he really needs to make some adjustments for tonight's game.

If he does, however, I will be shocked.

So let us hope the Darcy Kuemper show has a few more nights left in it.

All stats by naturalstattrick.com

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