Devil Dish

 by Sarah McLellan
 published on Friday, March 28, 2008

Sometime during the madness of March, the playoff hopes of the Coyotes became extinguished.

After a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on March 5, the Coyotes sat three points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Heading into last night's contest, the Coyotes sat in 11th.

It's easy to say the youth of the team caused its demise, naming the fact that the team is the youngest in the league as the reason it ran out of gas during the stretch drive.

But I think having the skill of young players like Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal can only power a playoff run, not hurt it.

The Anaheim Ducks became Stanley Cup champs last season after combining the youthful attack of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and former-Duck Dustin Penner with the mature tandem of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne.

So if the desert wants to be blanketed in white next spring, Gretzky and Co. might want to think about adding some experience in the offseason.

After all, someone's got to show the youngins how to grow a playoff beard.