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Tough start for Coyotes: Toews scores, Vrbata banged up

toewsgetty

James

It’s understandable that there’s a festive atmosphere in Phoenix. The Coyotes won their first-ever division title. They avoided the Detroit Red Wings after being bounced from the playoffs twice by that team. Unfortunately for the ‘Yotes, the early goings against Chicago haven’t been all peaches and cream.

First, Jonathan Toews signaled his return to action by scoring an opening goal against Phoenix:

Things went from bad to worse as Radim Vrbata appears to be banged up. Reports are mixed on whether he’s just being evaluated or whether he’ll miss the game completely, but Elliotte Friedman’s update doesn’t foster a lot of confidence for one of the NHL’s sneakiest scorers.

Not every break went against Phoenix, though. The CSN Chicago telecast indicates that the Coyotes might have gotten away with a too many men on the ice infraction in the first portion of a sequence that eventually ended up with a 1-1 goal. Look out for more on what might be the next officiating controversy of these young playoffs later tonight.