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After teasing fans with a 4-1 win over Nashville, Arizona swiftly reminded fans that it is still 2016 with a 7-0 loss in Pittsburgh.
The Arizona Coyotes will now aim to play 60 minutes of NHL level hockey against the Detroit Red Wings in a match-up that most Arizona fans are happy is now limited to, at most, two games a season.
View From Arizona
The view from Arizona currently isn’t a pretty one.
After being blown out 7-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona are immediately back on the ice with shaky and fatigued legs against the Detroit Red Wings in the heart of enemy territory.
Anything is an improvement from a 7-0 flogging, but after a 7-0 flogging anything less than a full 60 minute effort and a close match is going to feel just the same as the game against the Penguins. Time to dig deep.
View From Detroit
For more info on the Red Wings check out Winging It In Motown.
The Detroit Red Wings have lost their last two games and have found themselves in a unfamiliar position: four points off the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The Red Wings have been worse at home (6-7-3) than they have been away (7-5-1) and have a reasonably long list of injured players that makes it difficult to gauge how good Detroit really could be.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard has just returned from a groin injury and is looking to help turn Detroit’s season around as he boasts an impressive .945 save % and a 1.68 goals against average.
Last time these teams met was in January last season, with the Red Wings snatching a 3-2 victory in overtime courtesy of a Danny DeKeyser power play goal, featuring an assist from the now gone Pavel Datsyuk.
Three Questions
1. Will Shane Doan get 400? - Doan, like the Coyotes, was scoreless against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now he will get the chance to score his 400th goal against the Detroit Red Wings - wouldn’t that be sweet? In 68 games, Doan has recorded 15 goals against Detroit. Not the best statistic going around but perhaps Doan will have flashbacks to his playoff series against the Wings and lead the team to glorious victory.
2. Who should start in net? - It was straightforward to assume that Louis Domingue would get the start against the Red Wings as Mike Smith took the start against the Penguins in Arizona’s back to back games. But with Smith pulled early in the 2nd period against Pittsburgh after giving up 4 goals followed by Domingue letting in 3 as his replacement, it begs the question: “who should start in net?” The performance of the goalie that gets the start will answer the question.
3. How long will Anthony Duclair spend in the press box? - Duclair was scratched again against the Pittsburgh Penguins despite the news that the high scoring Max Domi could be out for up to 6 weeks. Duclair has now been sat 3 times over the course of the last week, a return to his 2015-16 form would be greatly appreciated if he is to dress for the rest of the trip.
Players to watch
Arizona - Shane Doan - Doan would be pretty excited to score his 400th goal against a team that we can imagine isn’t among his favorites to play against. Perhaps we’ll see the return of the “Doan Face”:
Detroit - Niklas Kronwall - Kronwall has a reputation for killing Coyotes in a physical sense as a opposed to the goal scoring sense. In a game that could potentially turn physical look to Kronwall to rough up Arizona whenever he gets the chance.
Injury Report
Arizona - Max Domi joins Brad Richardson on Injury Reserve and could potentially miss up to 6 weeks of action. Connor Murphy is still day-to-day and may join the Coyotes on the trip.
Detroit - The Wings have a plethora of injuries, but it appears unlikely any of their hurt players will return tonight against the Coyotes.
Jonathan Ericsson and Justin Abdelkader are reported as day-to-day, meanwhile Tyler Bertuzzi, Brendan Smith and Darren Helm are on injury reserve. Joining them on IR is Johan Franzen and former-Coyote Joe Vitale who are both suffering concussion symptoms.
Puck Drop
Tonights's game starts at 5:30pm Arizona time. You can watch it on Fox Sports Arizona Plus, Fox Sports Go! or Listen to it on ESPN Phoenix 620 AM.