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San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes Preview: Do Not Underestimate

© Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Trying to snap out of a four-game losing streak, the Arizona Coyotes (13-13-2) kickstart a three-game homestand against the pesky San Jose Sharks (9-17-3) tonight at Mullett Arena.

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While on a winless stretch, the Coyotes did show more bite and intensity against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but a special teams takeover and two goals by Jeff Carter caused Arizona to fall 4-2 on Dec. 12.

Left wing Clayton Keller remains the points leader with 25 in 28 games for the Desert Dogs.

However, the Coyotes’ roster may have some major alterations tonight as forward Nick Schmaltz is questionable.

Yesterday, Schmaltz did not take part of the ‘Yotes practice and will be a game-time decision with an upper-body injury.

In his place on the power play, winger Michael Carcone was slotted in Schmaltz’s position.

With the Sharks, they started the season off with a 0-10-1 record before being 9-7-2 since then.

San Jose remain the lowest scoring team (64) and have given up the most goals (114) in the NHL, but don’t let that be a distraction of how they been able to be competitively resilient lately.

Going 6-2-1 in their last nine games, the Sharks are going under the radar and turning their season around.

Centers Tomas Hertl and Mikael Granlund have been at the forefront of San Jose’s resurgence.

With 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) during this run, Granlund has been a near-perfect fit so far into his first season as a Shark.

Hertl continues to be the leader that San Jose have had as he has scored nine goals and picking up 15 assists for 24 points (team high) in 28 games.

Last week, Hertl netted five goals in two comeback victories against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings.

Additionally, his ability to use his 6’3″ stature to the fullest and force his way through the opposition’s neutral zone makes him one of the better power forwards in the league.

In a battle of the two lowest shooting teams per-game with Arizona (27.0) and San Jose (26.0) while the Sharks also giving up the most (36.7) in the NHL, hockey fans are in store for one of the more mysterious games of the night.

Goaltending Matchup

After practice yesterday, Coyotes head coach Tourigny said that Connor Ingram is the starter vs. the Sharks.

In contrast, The Hockey News Sharks editor Max Miller confirmed Kaapo Kahkonen will guard their goal tonight.

Season Statistics

  • Ingram: 11-6-0 | 2.56 GAA | .921 SV%
  • Kahkonen: 5-6-1 | 3.88 GAA | .894 SV%

History

In a three-game series, the Sharks swept the Coyotes 3-0 last season.

Narrowly, the Sharks beat Arizona 3-2 in San Jose on Dec. 22, 2022.

Then, San Jose’s first ever trip to Mullett Arena on Jan. 10 resulted in a 4-2 win thanks to right wing Kevin Labanc having a two-point night.

Towards the end of the 2022-23 season, ex-Shark Noah Gregor recorded his first NHL hat-trick of his career as San Jose crushed the Coyotes 7-2 in Tempe on Aprils Fools Day, Apr. 1.

Injuries

Arizona Coyotes: C Jack McBain (lower body – IR), C Barrett Hayton (upper body), D Vladislav Kolyachonok (lower body – IR), D Sean Durzi (lower body), C Travis Boyd (upper body) and *F Nick Schmaltz (upper body).

San Jose Sharks: C Nico Sturm (middle body) , C Logan Couture (lower body – IR), D Matt Benning (lower body – IR), D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (personal reasons), C Ryan Carpenter (undisclosed – IR), D Ty Emberson (lower body – IR), and LW Oskar Lindblom (lower body – IR).

 

Puck-drop between the Coyotes and Sharks begins at 7 p.m. MST.

Coyotes bank on leadership to break out of winless drought

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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

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