Not often does a team that just got beat 6-1 in a Game 7 at home deserve a standing ovation.
But the Phoenix Coyotes aren’t an ordinary story.
Most fans would be displeased with the result, but the fans on hand Tuesday night were happy just to have a Game 7 in Arizona.
From where the Coyotes were late last summer, I would have never even dreamed that a 50-win season was possible.
The Desert Dogs ran into the super-talented Detroit Red Wings in the first round. The same Red Wings that had been to the Stanley Cup Finals the last two years showed up for Game 7, and there was nothing the Coyotes could do to stop them.
But in the end, I still saw one of the coolest moments I have seen at a sporting event. After a long, miserable night of hockey, the Phoenix fans that stuck around started a “Let’s Go Coyotes” chant as the teams were going through the handshake line.
The fans acknowledged what the players had gone through this season, and the players acknowledged the fans right back.
For that moment, I thought hockey might have a fighting chance in the desert.
