This should be the last day that I'm too busy to write a full recap. Perhaps I'll have one up tomorrow since we have an extra day. Perhaps. Pear-hops.

Instead, I've been e-mailing back and forth with Jenna from the resident Coyotes' blog on Bloguin, Hipchecks. We agreed to do some sort of collaboration in the form of a short Q&A about the series. Because I suck at time management, we had to wait until today to finally get it done. But either way, with the series at 2-2, this is a great time to do it.

My portion of the Q&A is over at Hipchecks. Be sure to check it out since I went on a mini-goaltending rant which looks brilliant today now that Jimmy Howard is back to being the President of Space after posting that playoff shutout.

Jenna's answers to my questions:

1. What adjustments need to come from the potential loss of Shane Doan?

Shane Doan was having a very physical series. If he is not playing, the injury must be somewhat series. Doan will typically play through injuries (for example last season he had a broken hand and had his best month in January). The rest of the guys will need to pick up that physical aspect. Unfortunately I was in class during game four and did not get to see it. From my understanding, there wasn't a Coyote that picked up that physical aspect. He wasn't getting goals but he was making things happen and rattling the Red Wings a bit.

Another area that will suffer is the leadership that he brings to the ice. Our assistant captains include Z [Zbynek Michalek] and Jovo. Z is another player who seems quiet but leads by example, much like Doan. I am still not sure why Jovo got the other A. I know he is a veteran but he doesn't lead by example. I don't want the younger guys to start behaving and playing like Jovo. I think this is the biggest area that we will miss Doan and I don't see anyone being able to fill those skates.

2. Which Coyotes have been the unsung heroes in the first three games of the series, and which will need to step up for Phoenix to take two more games in this series?

Petr Prucha has been one of the most underrated players all season and playoffs. He hasn't gotten the credit he's do (except for with Coyotes fans and Dave Strader). He has made some great plays all season long, and well into the playoffs. He is one of the few guys we have that will go to the net and try to get the rebounds/redirect. He is a small guy but will attempt to make the hit. He got the game winning goal in one of the games this series, but didn't get a single headline (Lepisto got one for his goal, Vrbata got one but nothing for Prucha). He chases the puck like a dog chases a ball. He is like the energizer bunny on the ice. When he was knocked on conscious right before the Olympic break, fans were devastated. Thankfully it was nothing too bad and he was back after the break.

Taylor Pyatt has also seemed to step up his game during the playoffs. After having a tough finish to last season, he struggled at times this season. But when he plays physical, he makes things happen. He is a big body and can hit. He has been stepping up his physical play lately and it shows. He has had chances and made some great plays to give his teammates chances.

Jovo is the one player who will need to step up his game. Game one he played very well and I actually cheered for him. He hustled to get to the puck before a Red Wing (but still didn't make it) but at least he tried. He looks slow and makes far too many errors and bad decisions. At times he looks like he doesn't care. Maybe he would rather be golfing?

As a whole our power play unit needs to step it up. We had an amazing power play for game one but in subsequent games it has reverted back to what it was this season, the passing play as my friend likes to call it. They seem to be waiting for the perfect shot. That's fine, if you get it. Otherwise, just pepper the goalie with shots. Eventually one will go in. You will get rebounds, redirects etc. I don't get why our power play unit can't get it together.

3. From your perspective, what is Phoenix doing right to disrupt Detroit's game plan?

There are three main things I believe that have disrupted Detroit's game. First, the physical play. We came out of the gate ready to be physical. The games where we have been most physical, we have won. I am not just talking about the big hits but the little things. The battles in the corners, clearing the crease and getting Detroit of the puck.

The second would be our speed. We have a lot of young guys who can really book it. Lombo and Korps have had some great breakaways and chances just because they are so fast. Detroit has a few players who are just as fast, but it seems Phoenix has more players with speed.

And lastly, when our defense play both defensively and offensively we can win games. We don't have any "superstars" on our team. We don't have a true sniper, so we depend on everyone to score. Our dmen have really contributed to our scoring this season. When they forget to play good d, especially in front of Bryz, that is when we get in trouble. Poor Z would have vastly different numbers if he played with someone besides Jovo. Jovo can be a huge liability when on the ice.

4. How has this season and this series changed hockey in Arizona in terms of general interest and buzz around the city?

People who I have never heard talk hockey, are talking about it. They are asking questions. They are getting interested, purely by the way the media is talking about the team. In the past, the Coyotes could not make the front page, let alone be above the crease. Now, everyone is talking Coyotes and they are saying good things. Our media has been very negative about the team in the past. The media has played a huge role in how the Coyotes have been perceived here. They only talked about the bad, never the wins. Even in losing seasons, we had wins. We had players that cared but the media never presented this. Over the summer, it was the sky is falling! The Coyotes are leaving! But now everyone is talking about this team in a positive way. After game three we had several news articles about the game. We had the top spot on the front of the sports section. I had never seen anything like it before.

Part of the reason I started my blog was because of all the negativity out there. I wanted a place to express myself and show how much I loved my team. There were times where I was hard on them but I never stopped loving them. I know this is true for several friends of mine too. They all started Coyotes blog because the media either ignored the team or just presented all the negatives.

We all said, if they win the fans will come back. This has proven to be true. We had four straight sellouts at the end of the season. Both playoff games have been sellouts. There were definitely more Coyote fans then Red Wings, which hasn't always been the case. With the proper owner, the Coyotes can go far. We finally have a GM and a coach that know what they are doing. Fans are starting to come back because now they can see that.

5. Going a little into coaching philosophy, why is Dave Tippett having success with a team that Wayne Gretzky could never do anything with?

There is a famous quote that I always refer to when people ask about Gretzky:

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach"

Gretzky has a gift. He has the natural ability to play hockey. There are very few people who are naturally that good at something. Most people need to practice, practice, practice. Not to take anything away from Gretzky, but when something comes naturally to you, you aren't going to be the best teacher or coach. If you never had to work for something, how can you show someone else how to do it? Those of us that had to work at something in order to be good at it, know what it takes to succeed and can more easily show others how to achieve at that task/sport/ability.

Also, Tippett didn't just start out as a head coach in the NHL. He started in a lower level league and worked his way up. Most people are not just given a high position when we start looking for jobs. Imagine a college graduate just being given a CEO job. Most likely it will turn out bad. If Gretzky truly wanted to be a great coach at the NHL level, he should have paid his due. He should have started off with one of the teams minor league teams, maybe the Rampage. Once he got the hang of it, then try him out in the NHL.

There are a few other things I think contributed to Gretzky's inability to coach this team to the playoffs. First, he was also an owner. He should have relinquished his rights as an owner while coaching. He had his hand in too many things. Secondly, his family lives in LA and he had been quoted as saying he didn't review tapes of opponents. He wasn't fully focused on coaching the Coyotes. I'm not saying that should have been the only thing he did, but it should have been a main focus (family should also be important but then make your wife move to Phoenix so you aren't always going to LA to see her...).

Tippett is much more focused on the team. He has hobbies and family but has figured out how to balance everything. He understands hockey is a team game and made that very clear from the start of the season. His press conferences are always good to listen to. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and has people in place that can help in those areas (he has several assistant coaches, all who do different things in practice with the guys). Tippet gets it. I'm not sure if Gretzky did or he just didn't care as much as Tippett does.

Bonus: Phoenix has Bobby Lang on the roster, one of the most maligned players in Detroit from the past decade. How terrible has he been for Phoenix?

At first I liked him. He was winning face offs and getting points. He seemed to be a good fit and a hard worker. Then he stopped being effective and made me frustrated because I had seen him play so well for awhile. Then he got injured and didn't play for an extended period of time. I kind of forgot he was even on the team until he played in game three for Fiddler. He has pretty much become a non-factor for me. we have plenty of other Czechs that are way more efficient.

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Great stuff from Hipchecks. Good luck the rest of the series. I'm delighted to say that I don't absolutely despise the Coyotes yet, which is unlike most playoff series Detroit plays in. They play an honest and hard working game.