After an unexpected hiatus due to COVID outbreaks throughout the league, the NHL picks things back up this evening with three games on the docket - one of which sees the Coyotes head to San Jose to take on the Sharks.
Tonight will see the Yotes look to build off their exciting OT win against Anaheim (prior to the break) way back on December 17th. A game they played for
Matt Shott
One of the key ingredients that went into that victorious Duck stew that Arizona enjoyed was the sense of urgency they had throughout the game. Unlike the bulk of this season, the Coyotes continuously traded blows on the scoreboard with Anaheim - never letting themselves get too far behind and out of the game. They kept pace with a talented Anaheim team that currently sits second in the the Pacific Division. In fact, the Coyotes scored six goals that night - the most they have put up in a game all season. This win not only snapped a six-game skid, but it saw the Coyotes offense get going. Prior to the Ducks game, the Yotes scored just ten goals in their previous seven games. Yikes…
Coming into San Jose, they’ll face a 15-14-1 Sharks team who have had their ups and downs this season. Arizona will get some help with Sharks’ leading scorer Tomas Hertl being recently added to the COVID-19 Protocol list. But the Coyotes aren’t without their share of key guys missing. It was only a couple days back that Christian Fischer and Ilya Lyubushkin were placed on the COVID list, and then Craig Morgan announced yesterday that Chychrun and Dzingel won’t be back in action for at least a couple more weeks:
And so a rough season looks a bit rougher for the Coyotes in the immediate future. But reinforcements are on the way…
Forward Jan Jenik was recalled from the Roadrunners and the below taxi squad has been assembled.
Every team is hurting at this point with guys out due to COVID and/or injury. But the Coyotes can be competitive if they play the way they did against the Ducks. Get the pace up, clear the front of the net, keep threats to the outside and grind it out.
The Yotes were beat out but the Ducks in all but two statistically categories last game, but the two areas Arizona won are key:
Blocks
AZ: 15
ANA: 5
Giveaways
AZ: 9
ANA: 15
While the numbers never tell the full story of a game, the above is great to see. Selling out and blocking shots doesn’t just benefit your goalie, it’s a huge morale booster for the team. Who doesn’t appreciate a good shot block? It gets the guys pumped and prevents a potential scoring opportunity.
And the second stat is always a good thing. It’s a no-brainer: minimizing the amount of times you turn the puck over to the opposition minimizes the amount of time they have controlling the puck and putting something together to score.
With this team’s makeup and how they have been playing, the Coyotes can benefit greatly going forward if they keep this number low each night. It can actually help them be more competitive and in control of the game.
Trade Bait
A couple days ago Bleacher Report put out an article that suggests potential trades for contending teams with the Arizona Coyotes.
It’s a fun read that I’m sure will start a lot of chatter/debate. I’ll save the details for you to read, but here’s the list of players and where they see them fitting in for trades:
Kessel to the Rangers
Crouse to the Penguins
Chychrun to the Bruins
Chychrun to the Red Wings
Gostisbehere to the Wild
Roussel to the Hurricanes
Check out the article
here.
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Enjoy the game!
Matt Ross
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