A day before Thanksgiving, the Arizona Coyotes (8-8-2) conclude a two-game home stand tonight when they welcome the St. Louis Blues (9-7-1) to Mullett Arena at 7 p.m.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following them completing their three-game season-series against the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-1 loss on Nov. 20, Arizona will have two more against the Blues after splitting two contests in St. Louis this season already, 1-1.
The Coyotes were first able to crush St. Louis 6-2 thanks to nine different point scorers including two from defenseman Sean Durzi and left wing Clayton Keller.
Then, the Blues would play tight defensively and negated almost any chance from Arizona to score as they beat the ‘Yotes 2-1 on Nov. 9.
What makes this game even more significant is the fact that both teams are hovering around playoff spots.
It is early, but St. Louis find themselves in fourth place with 19 points in the Central Division while the Coyotes are fifth and have 18 points.
Additionally, Arizona can leapfrog the Blues into fourth tonight since there is only a single-point difference.
However, St. Louis does have a game-in-hand on the ‘Yotes.
Can the Coyotes orchestrate the right tunes and defeat the Blues?
Here is all you need to know before both teams face-off in Tempe tonight:
Coyotes Notes
In a game of this magnitude, the Coyotes offense needs to bury their opportunities because they may not come again.
Previously, Arizona have only managed to score three goals in their last two games against the Kings and Winnipeg Jets.
Especially vs. LA, the Coyotes’ had multiple breakaways and chances, but only managed to put one goal on the board from 31 shots-on-goal.
When looking at the stats, the sticking point was that the Kings killed-off all-six power-play opportunities that Arizona had.
However, it could be labeled as an outlier since the ‘Yotes are still the sixth-best team on the man-advantage this season with a conversion-rate of 26.9% and Los Angeles’ penalty-kill is the second-highest in the NHL with 90.2%.
Keller remains the Coyotes’ points leader with 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 18 games.
Since Keller had a five-game points-streak snapped in Winnipeg, he hasn’t gotten one since.
Furthermore, goaltender Karel Vejmelka will start tonight after Connor Ingram was in-net against LA.
Once out for an unknown period of time, Arizona defenseman Juuso Välimäki is now labeled as “day-to-day” after being struck in the face by a shot against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 14.
Blues Notes
As for the Blues, they went 1-2 in three games against all of the Californian teams in the league:
Blues’ Time in California
- 5-1 L at San Jose Sharks, Nov. 16.
- 5-1 L at Los Angeles Kings, Nov. 18.
- 3-1 W at Anaheim Ducks, Nov. 19.
With two days of rest, St. Louis should be fresh and ready to go tonight.
Center Robert Thomas has substantially been the best player for the Blues as he 6 goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 17 contests.
Even though they are in-front of Arizona, St. Louis currently are the second-worst team on the power-play as they are a dismal 7.7% and only have 4 goals with the extra-man.
Despite their inconsistencies and having a goal differential of zero, the Blues are still 6-4 in their last 10 games.
This is because goaltender Jordan Binnington is having a bounce-back season this year.
After going 27-27-6 with a 3.31 goals-against-average and .894 save-percentage last campaign, Binnington is currently 5-5-1 with a more-respectable .922 save-percentage and 2.47 GAA.
Coyotes Focus on Special Teams During Practice Before Game vs. Blues
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Alec Cipollini is a reporter of the Arizona Coyotes and Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @AlecCipollini
