Game Preview
The Arizona Coyotes lost another game last night, falling 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild. Despite the score, it was a close game, with the Wild scoring two empty-net goals as the Yotes attempted to tie it up late in the third.
The Wild drew first blood in the second period with a power play goal from Kirill Kaprizov on the Coyotes’ first penalty of the game. It is unclear what exactly is going on with the Coyotes’ penalty kill, but that just proved that they need to stay out of the box if they want any chance at success to end the season.
Thankfully, the Coyotes started to come back in the third period. Clayton Keller started things off with a power play goal 81 seconds into the final frame, and Michael Carcone notched his 18th of the season just seven seconds after that. Suddenly, it looked like the Coyotes would be taking over.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t keep going. Zach Bogosian tied things up at the two-minute mark, and while it looked like goaltender interference prevented goaltender Karel Vejmelka from making the save, the referees said “goal” with no explanation.
While that goal may have proven the beginning of the end for the Desert Dogs last night, they can’t dwell on it. They are back in action tonight, facing off against the Detroit Red Wings.
After facing off against a team looking to regain a playoff spot, the Coyotes will play a team with a Wild Card spot tonight. The Detroit Red Wings are tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand, with 72 points in 62 games.
Detroit comes into tonight’s game with a 6-4-0 record in their last ten games but riding a three-game losing streak. For a team that is looking to make the post-season, you would expect them to make some moves leading up to the trade deadline. They have been quiet as of this writing, but that may not be the case when the puck drops. If they are late trades that means they may not be ready to play tonight.
The Red Wings played on Wednesday, making them the more rested team. Ideally, the Coyotes will start quickly and get a few early goals to dictate the game’s pace. They don’t want to try to mount a comeback late in the third period after playing the night before.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Michael Carcone – Carcone has goals in back-to-back games, with three goals in four games. The Coyotes need offense from everyone, and Carcone is stepping up.
Detroit: Robby Fabbri – The 28-year-old forward recorded his 16th goal of the season in the Red Wings’ last game, his 16th of the season. He has a decent amount of time to set a new career high in goals scored.
Injuries
Arizona: Travis Boyd (pectoral)
Detroit: Ville Husso (lower body), Dylan Larkin (lower body)
Puck Drop
Tonight’s game will be at Mullett Arena with a 7:00 p.m. start. It will air on Scripps.