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The Coyotes are looking to bounce back against the Golden Knights and get their first win of the season on the national stage when they take on Vegas at their home opener tonight.
With the roster change yesterday of Dylan Strome going to the AHL and Mario Kempe coming up, lets see if a shake up of the roster can get the team going.
View From Vegas
For more information on the Golden Knights and their preview go to Knights On Ice
After winning in dramatic fashion on Saturday night against the Coyotes, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are 2-0 and looking good.
The play of Marc-Andre Fleury has kept them in games, especially when you look at the game against Dallas where he made 44 saves. Expect him to put on another great show against the Coyotes tonight.
Goal scoring is still an issue for the Golden Knights as only James Neal has more than one goal. The other is Nate Schmidt, who tied the game up late on Saturday.
Tuesday will be a somber affair as Vegas opens at home with still heavy hearts of the events on October 1st.
Tomorrow's national anthem will honor our city that we love❤
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 10, 2017
More: https://t.co/cHQXvTcYwp pic.twitter.com/AJfXnw14I2
View From Arizona
It’s only the third game of the season and there is no reason to panic.
We must remember; young forwards, new defensive partners for all, new goalie, new systems, and a new coach. This is not something that will click overnight. Rick Tocchet had said this will be hard and there will be growing pains. He has been saying this since he was hired. This is not going to be a year turn around - some games will be rough.
That being said, Antti Raanta has shown that he is a starting goalie, in his one start. This is not the time to go ‘well Mike Smith-’ because he had one good game.
The Coyotes need to learn, and we need to learn with them. Just enjoy the ride and don’t start to tear everything apart 2 games in because it is not the system you are used to.
The addition of speedy winger Mario Kempe could help the Coyotes score more, while we can hope Dylan Strome makes goalies cry in the AHL while he finds his game.
Three Questions
Can Raanta stand on his head again? Raanta kept the Coyotes in the game on Saturday as long as he could. He faced 42 shots on goal that night - let’s hope the defense can keep that down on him tonight.
Can the Penalty Kill keep it up? Currently the Penalty Kill is running at 100%, which admittedly are only early numbers but when you can run Niklas Hjalmarsson, Tobias Rieder, Jordan Martinook and Oliver Ekman-Larsson out on a PK, I think you’re going to be okay.
Can they spoil the party? Can the Coyotes spoil the Vegas home opener party like Vegas spoiled theirs? Let’s make this a true rivalry. #OwnTheDesert
Players to Watch
Arizona- Tobias Rieder scored the only goal for the Coyotes on Saturday. He had a few chances on breakaways and couldn’t convert. Maybe this year will be the year he can convert on those chances.
Vegas- Reilly Smith was working the hardest during the game against the Coyotes on Saturday. He and Jonathan Marchessault on the first Vegas line are a deadly combination. He will need to be kept away from the stats sheet.
Injury Report
Arizona- Jakob Chychrun, Knee Surgery, no timetable for return. Zac Rinaldo is serving the third of the five games he was suspended for in March of 2015. He can return against the Stars, October 17th.
Vegas- Clayton Stoner was placed on the injured reserve list with an unspecified injury. He is expected to return in mid-October possibly as early as the Vegas home opener on October 10th.
Puck Drop
Tonights game is at 7:00 pm PST on NBCSN. That’s right folks, it’s the one and only national game for the Coyotes!
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