The Coyotes will take on the Flyers tonight in Arizona.
The Coyotes finished the year with a nice little win against the St. Louis Blues, but because the Golden Knights won, they did not finish the year with the division lead.
They then kicked off the New Year by beating the Might Ducks and will look for a third straight win tonight.
Michael Grabner will be healthy scratched again, and Antti Raanta will be in goal.
Good times should be had by all.
According to Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan, Nik Hjalmarsson was on the ice and so was Darcy Kuemper - though no time table has been set for their returns, it's good to know they're practicing.
The best news though is the play of Barrett Hayton.
Even though he's been a healthy scratch most of the year, he's doing great at the World Juniors for team Canada.
Hayton has five goals and nine points in five games. Canada is currently playing Finland in the semis as we speak.
The Coyotes handling of Hayton has been pretty stupid if you want my opinion. (If you don't, why are you here?)
They are a team that struggles to score and doesn't play one of their most talented players, which makes no sense.
I don't think Hayton qualifies for the AHL, and he's way too good for junior hockey, so he's stuck in limbo at the NHL level.
The problem though, is that he's been good and deserves to play. Especially on a team that can't score and is weak at centre.
I'd the like to see the Coyotes go with a Keller-Stepan-Kessel line, and a Hall-Hayton-Schmaltz line.
Anyways, all that aside, it will be interesting to see how the team handles him after this tournament where he most likely will be named MVP.
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