For the past month, the Arizona Coyotes have been in the thick of it when talking about competing for a playoff spot in the Central Division.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It is very early, but having a 7-6-2 record while collecting 16 points has presented the reality that the Coyotes are entering a new era.
Currently in fifth place in their division, there have been multiple one-goal games which didn’t go their way, but they withhold the desire to remain competitive while also taking points away from other teams that they may have not done in the recent past.
However, throughout the first-15 games of the season, the “Desert Dogs” have fought through adversity, especially from the injury front.
Injury Situation
Three weeks ago, ‘Yotes right wing Jason Zucker endured a lower-body injury that kept him on injured reserve for three weeks.
Without Zucker, the emergence of left wing Michael Carcone crushed expectations as he recorded 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 games, including a 4-point night against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 30.
Zucker did return on Nov. 9 against the St. Louis Blues, but the Coyotes were dealt with another blow just prior to puck-drop that evening.
After hitting the ice following him blocking a shot with his left hand from Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers on Nov. 7, it was announced that Arizona defenseman Travis Dermott (upper body) would be out “week-to-week” and was placed on the I.R.
Furthermore, just before the Coyotes played the Nashville Predators on Nov. 11, the club said that center Jack McBain (lower body) was also “week-to-week.”
Previously, McBain crashed into the boards versus the Blues with his left leg taking the brunt of the impact.
Fast forward to last night’s game with the Dallas Stars, ‘Yotes defenseman Juuso Välimäki took a puck straight to the face, bled onto the ice, and rushed to the locker room immediately.
There is no update on the severity of Välimäki’s injury, at the time of reporting.
Having three mainstays trying to recover from different situations, it will be interesting to see how the Coyotes continue to weather the storm going forward.
Coyotes’ defense crumbled late in 4-3 overtime defeat to Stars
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Alec Cipollini is an insider of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
