Game Preview
After a massive offseason, the Arizona Coyotes 2023-24 season officially begins today on the road. On paper, the Coyotes are a much better team compared to last season, and the revamped line-up will be put to the test today against the New Jersey Devils.
The Desert Dogs are going to feature a lot of new faces this season. General Manager Bill Armstrong convinced forward Logan Cooley to go pro rather than return to college, signed Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, and Matt Dumba, and traded for Sean Durzi.
Logan Cooley is definitely the biggest name, and he goes into this season as an early Calder candidate. He had an excellent preseason that included scoring on penalty shots in back-to-back games and a tremendous goal in a preseason game in Australia.
But the Coyotes won’t rely solely on their stellar rookie and new players like Zucker and Durzi this season. The Coyotes didn’t have much turnover and kept their best players.
After tying Keith Tkachuk for most points as a Coyote, Clayton Keller is looking to take his game to another level again this season. Both Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse are coming off back-to-back 20-goal seasons and should be big pieces for the Coyotes this season. And you can’t forget Matias Maccelli, who finished fourth in last season’s Calder votes when he finished with 49 points in 64 games.
While the Coyotes are opening their season this afternoon against the Devils, their opponent played last night. New Jersey beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 at home, an excellent start to their season.
People are predicting that New Jersey will be one of the top teams in the league this season, and last night’s game shows why. After the Red Wings took a 1-0 lead midway through the middle frame, the Devils tied it up a minute and 25 seconds later with a power play goal from Jack Hughes, who scored again five minutes and four seconds later to give the Devils their first lead of the season.
The final two New Jersey goals came at full strength, with Dougie Hamilton and Erik Haula both scoring in the third period. The Red Wings would tie the game once, but they couldn’t find the final equalizer, and the game ended in regulation.
If the Coyotes want to have a chance tonight, they need to do what Detroit couldn’t. Scoring first is great, but they must be ready for a quick response and can’t expect New Jersey to go down easy. They can’t let up against a team with New Jersey’s offense because it will almost certainly come back to bite them.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Clayton Keller – While Cooley gets all the attention, Keller is still expected to provide the bulk of the Coyotes’ offense this season. A whole year with Barrett Hayton as his center, and hopefully a healthy Nick Schmaltz, will hopefully help him as Keller looks to grow after a great 86-point season.
New Jersey: Jack Hughes – After finishing with 99 points in 78 games last season, Jack Hughes is expected to have a big year for the New Jersey Devils. He is a significant piece of the team moving forward and was on full display with his first two goals of the season.Â
Injuries
Arizona: None
New Jersey: Erik Haula, Keith Kinkaid, Nico Daws
Puck Drop
This afternoon’s game will be at 4:00 pm Arizona time and will air on Scripps, which can be found on channel 95 on Cox and channel 15.2 on antenna in Phoenix, on Cox 85/Comcast 1179 and antenna channel 9.2 in Tucson, on MSGSN in New Jersey, and on ESPN 620 AM.