GLENDALE, Ariz. — The thermometer hit 33C less than an hour before puck drop, an apt setting for Game 7 of this Western Conference quarterfinal.
For however long it lasts and for whatever the future holds, hockey was hot in the desert Tuesday night.
A Phoenix Coyotes franchise, which was plunged into a state of bankruptcy a year ago next Wednesday, found itself battling one of the most playoff-tested teams of the decade in a winner-take-all battle to advance to the second round.
What a scene it was, what a journey it has been.
The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, was not in the building, the former coach being the highest-profile casualty of the bankruptcy saga.
The Greatest was here, however. That would be boxer Muhammad Ali, who has a home in the Valley of the Sun and has been a regular at Coyotes games during the playoffs.
Another sellout crowd, a foreign concept 12 months ago, was decked out in white and howled their Coyote howl all night.
One big playoff game is not likely to change the course of hockey history here, but a season defined by proving doubters wrong at least seems headed in the right direction.
With a victory, the Coyotes would advance to the second round for the first time since moving here from Winnipeg in 1996. And doing it against the Wings would make that much more special.
“It’s fitting after being the underdog all season,” Coyotes defenceman Adrian Aucoin said earlier Tuesday. “I think it’s just one of those years.
“I don’t throw ‘destiny’ out there often, but maybe it is. I know it’s only the first round, but for it’s the biggest game in our franchise history.”
Whatever happened in Game 7, the Coyotes believed they are a business and a hockey team that is well on its way along the road to respectability.
The night before the series opener, Glendale city council approved the lease deal of Chicago millionaire Jerry Reinsdorf. By the end of June, the NHL, which has operated the team all season, hopes to have a sale worked out with Reinsdorf, who has pledged to keep the team in the desert for at least five years.
The longer the Coyotes hang around the playoffs the better, of course, but the building blocks now in place might just make the team viable for years to come.
With 14 players on one-year contracts, there is still tricky business ahead, but general manager Don Maloney and coach Dave Tippett have earned respect around the league for what they have done this delicate season.
“We just don’t want to be, ‘Oh, this is a nice story,’ Tippett said. “We want to be a good team and a good team for a long time. You get in situations like (Game 7 of the playoffs), it can push you ahead.”
Tuesday’s contest marked the first time the Coyotes appeared in a Game 7 since 1999 in this their first playoff appearance in eight years.
From bankruptcy, to struggling to win over fans who had all but disowned them amid the threats that the team might ship north to Canada, the Coyotes put together a remarkable campaign. Their 107 points was a franchise record, bettering the 2008-09 campaign by a remarkable 28 points.
“As a team, as an organization we have overcome a lot,” Coyotes defenceman Mathieu Schneider said. “There are a lot of people in the hockey world that are surprised, No. 1 that we are still playing and No. 2, the passion is here for this team.
“It’s exciting for everyone here.”
Even more so if it continues.
