Game Preview
The Arizona Coyotes’ first road trip comes to an end tonight against the St. Louis Blues. The Desert Dogs have kept games tight, but they need to find a way to get a much-needed two points against a division rival.
Arizona has dropped their last two games, a back-to-back against the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. Both games were lost by a single goal, with the Coyotes falling 2-1 to the Rangers and 1-0 to the Islanders.
The Coyotes’ power play has come under greater scrutiny because both games were so close. Arizona has had plenty of chances with the man advantage, including a four-minute power 5-on-4 and two minutes of 5-on-3, but they couldn’t score.
General Manager Bill Armstrong made several moves during the offseason to improve the power play, including signing Logan Cooley and Jason Zucker and acquiring Sean Durzi. Those new pieces will take time to adjust to a new system and new teammates, but hopefully, it won’t be too much longer.
While the Coyotes were busy facing off against Eastern Conference teams, the St. Louis Blues have started their season against Western Conference teams. They opened their season against the Dallas Stars and followed that up with a game against the Seattle Kraken. Both games ended 2-1 in the shootout, with the Blues falling to the Stars and beating the Kraken.
The Blues and the Coyotes are off to a similar start in a lot of ways. Both teams have struggled to generate offense, with the Blues only recording two goals. Both teams have also had issues with the man advantage, although the Blues are still looking for their first power play goal after having seven opportunities.
St. Louis was pretty quiet during the offseason. They traded a sixth-round pick for Kevin Hayes and signed Oskar Sundqwist to a one-year deal. It was not exactly the offseason you would expect from a team that missed the playoffs by 14 points last season.
With two low-scoring teams, the Coyotes’ best move is to get an early goal and control the game’s pace. The Blues haven’t played since Saturday and will be the more rested team, but if the Coyotes can get a good start, it will go a long way towards them getting a win.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Clayton Keller – You can always count on Keller to have a good game in his hometown, especially after his solid start. Keller has a goal and two assists in his first three games and will be looking to get back on the board after the team was shut out by the Islanders.
St. Louis: Jordan Kyrou – After scoring a career-high 37 goals last season, Kyrou has one of the Blues’ two goals this season. Kyrou’s goal against the Kraken in the second period tied the game, which would eventually lead to the Blues getting their first win in the shootout.
Injuries
Arizona: None
St. Louis: Pavel Buchnevich, Joshua Jacobs
Puck Drop
Today’s game will be at 5:00 pm Arizona time in St. Louis and will air on Scripps.