Mueller finally lights the lamp

When the Phoenix Coyotes took the ice Thursday night at Jobing.com Arena to host the Chicago Blackhawks, it had been awhile since 3rd year forward Peter Mueller had scored a goal.

Mueller had a goose egg in the goals column this season through the Coyotes’ first 15 games, which included two healthy scratches for the player many consider to be a cornerstone of the Coyotes’ future.

Going back to last season, Mueller had scored just once in his last 39 games–a tally in the closing minutes of a 4-1 win over San Jose in the second-to-last game of last season for the Coyotes.

But finally, on Thursday, Mueller got in the scoring column as he directed a backhander into the net to beat Chicago goalie Cristobal Huet, and put the Coyotes up 2-0 at 11:55 of the first period.

It was obviously a relief for the 21-year old Mueller. “It’s like somebody taking a big weight vest off of me,” he said. “Now it’s out of the way and hopefully there’s more to come.”

Head coach Dave Tippett lauded the effort of #88 in his own unique way. “He was alright. I thought he was pretty good last night (against Colorado) too,” Tippett said. “He sat and watched a couple games, and hopefully that helped him get some urgency in his game. I’d like to see him now with that first one behind him now, get going and start producing for us.”

Everyone close to the organization would love to see Mueller get back to his goal scoring pace of 2007-08, when as a 19-year old rookie, he scored 22 times in 81 games. Last year his output fell to 13 goals in 72 games.

Mueller said that twice being a healthy scratch served as motivation. “It got me thinking that I’ve got to do every part of my game to get out there and play and practices and watching video are the things that I needed to do. That’s what I did and I think the coaches saw that.”

The resurgent Mueller and the rest of the Coyotes visit the Anaheim Ducks at the Arrowhead Pond Saturday night.

Peter Mueller’s 1st period goal vs. Chicago — his first of the year

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