Devan Dubnyk Gets Consecutive Starts For Coyotes

Backup Devan Dubnyk gets nod with back to back starts for the Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes are having some trouble this season — and while it’s not all in net, a good portion of it certainly is.

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Devan Dubnyk was acquired by the Coyotes in the off-season to back up starter Mike Smith, but Dubnyk isn’t your traditional secondary netminder. Drafted in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers, Dubnyk was actually the starter in Edmonton before heading to Arizona — and although he struggled with his former franchise, he seems to be fitting in quite well with the Coyotes.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Smith, who has had a disastrous start to the 2014-2015 season. It’s not just on him; the players aren’t scoring, and man-to-man coverage has fallen by the wayside in favor of blocking shots and attempting to force turnovers. Yet, the team is undoubtedly playing smarter in front of Dubnyk… and as such, he’s been awarded his second consecutive start Tuesday night.

It’s likely that the Coyotes would have used Dubnyk Tuesday regardless of whether he had started Saturday or not — not only is he playing against his former franchise, he’s done quite well against them this season.

Still, the message is clear — the Coyotes are putting more and more faith in Dubnyk, and less and less in Smith.

While this is good for the starter-turned-backup, this isn’t good for the franchise… Mike Smith is inked to a monstrous contract that doesn’t expire any time soon.

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