The Phoenix Coyotes had been waiting so long for a new owner that they barely blinked when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced a tentative deal was in place.
They had become immune to the ownership saga and, besides, had more pressing business in front of them: a spot in the Western Conference finals.
Capping a momentous day, the Coyotes celebrated news of a new owner with a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night to reach the conference finals for the first time in 33 years as an NHL franchise.
“The organization, obviously there’s been some adversity a lot of teams don’t have to go through,” Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. “It’s very rewarding to know that our players have to put that on the backburner and just move forward and try to do whatever they can to help us win.”
The day started off with news the Coyotes and their fans had been anticipating for three years.
Speaking as players from both teams warmed up in the hallway, Bettman announced the tentative agreement to sell the Coyotes to former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.
There’s no official sale agreement yet and Jamison still needs to work out lease details with the city of Glendale, which could be dicey with conservative watchdog group the Goldwater Institute lurking. Still, after three years of waiting, the move toward ownership and staying in the desert took a big step.
The Coyotes paid it no mind. They had spent the previous three seasons with the uncertainty hanging over them and had learned to keep their focus on the ice, not on what happens off it.
Playing its usual counterpunching style, Phoenix withstood an early flurry by Nashville and followed with goals from Derek Morris and Martin Hanzal in the second period.
And, as usual, the Coyotes gave up a late goal to make it interesting, this one by Colin Wilson with just under 6 minutes left.
But Phoenix held on to pull out another victory, nearly getting an empty-net goal by Smith before setting off a raucous celebration on the ice rink surrounded by desert.
Next up for the Coyotes are the Los Angeles Kings, the first No. 8 seed to knock off Nos. 1 and 2 in the same playoffs.
“We’ve learned a lot as a group who we are and every guy has contributed in the series and the playoffs,” said Smith, who stopped 32 shots. “It’s been different guys in different series and it’s been a big part of our success.”
Nashville, as it did all series, had plenty of good chances against Smith. Even with forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn back from two-game suspensions, the Predators couldn’t find a way to capitalize, hitting the post at least three times and managing one goal despite outshooting the Coyotes 33-17.
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