Game Preview
After an excellent start, the Arizona Coyotes’ season’s final road trip hit a snag. The Coyotes ran into a hot netminder in Philipp Grubauer last night and fell 5-0 to the Seattle Kraken.
The first two times the Kraken and Coyotes met, they were tight games that needed overtime or a shoot-out to settle things. That was not the case last night, as the Kraken got two early goals and then kept going for a full 60 minutes.
Giving up two early goals is enough to shake any team, but the Coyotes did their best to generate offense. They outshot the Kraken 39-25 but couldn’t find a way to beat Grubauer.
The Coyotes will go from playing a middle-of-the-pack team last night to playing the top team in the Pacific tonight. Vancouver is about to end a very successful season and come into tonight’s match with 104 points in 78 games.
These two teams met a week ago, with Vancouver winning 2-1 thanks to a late goal. Since then, they have played twice, first falling 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings and then beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3.
While the Coyotes played last night, the Canucks’ last match was on Monday at home. That means Vancouver will be the more rested team, so the Coyotes need a hot start to set the pace.
Tonight’s match is all about pride for the Desert Dogs. They want to avoid getting swept and beat their old coach’s new team. It will be a tough match, but they have no reason not to leave it all on the ice.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Dylan Guenther – Guenther had the Coyotes’ lone goal against the Canucks and currently has 14 goals and 27 points through 41 games. He had a few good looks against the Kraken, although he couldn’t find the back of the net.
Vancouver: J.T. Miller – Miller had three assists in the Canuck’s last matchup and comes into tonight’s match riding an eight-game point streak. He has two assists against the Coyotes this season.
Injuries
Arizona: Nick Bjugstad (undisclosed), Travis Boyd (pectoral), Travis Dermott (upper body), Barrett Hayton (lower body)
Vancouver: Thatcher Demko (knee), Elias Lindholm (undisclosed), Tucker Poolman (undisclosed)
Puck Drop
Tonight’s game will be in Vancouver with a 7:30 p.m. start time.