Pittsburgh Penguins (21-16-6) at Arizona Coyotes (22-19-3)
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Starting Time/Venue: 7 p.m. MST at Mullett Arena in Tempe, AZ
For the final time at Mullett Arena until after the NHL All-Star Break, the Arizona Coyotes will be home when they clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
Both teams faced each other on Dec. 12, with Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter both scoring twice in a 4-2 victory for the Pens in Pittsburgh.
The matchup was infested with penalties and decided by special teams as five of the six goals were either on the power play or shorthanded.
Now that it is in Arizona, the ‘Yotes could make it two wins in a row after beating the Nashville Predators 3-2. Clayton Keller had two goals and Connor Ingram made 30 saves in the victory.
Even though their record is 3-5-1 in their last nine games, they went toe-to-toe with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, but fell just short in the end.
On the flip side, Pittsburgh are 1-1-2 in their last four, and all three of the losses were decided by a single goal.
Last time out, they were leading 2-0 going into the third period agains the Vegas Golden Knights, but gave up three goals in the final frame, losing 3-2 on Jan. 20.
The Metropolitan Division has been a gauntlet this season as only three points separates Pittsburgh (48) who are in seventh from the fourth place New York Islanders (51).
With the additions of Erik Karlsson and Ryan Graves to their defense, the Penguins are third in the NHL in goal-against (115) hold the seventh best penalty kill (83.2%).
What has been the Achilles heel for Pittsburgh, however, has been their power play as they have the third worst in the league, converting 13.6% of the time.
Key Stats
Goals
Coyotes – RW Clayton Keller: 19
Penguins – C Sidney Crosby: 26
Assists
Coyotes – LW Matias Maccelli: 23
Penguins – LW Jake Guentzel: 27
Points
Coyotes – RW Clayton Keller: 41 (19 goals, 22 assists)
Penguins – C Sidney Crosby: 48 (26 goals, 21 assists)
Injuries
Arizona Coyotes: C Barrett Hayton (upper body – IR), D Vladislav Kolyachonok (lower body – IR), C Travis Boyd (upper body – IR), C Nick Schmaltz (upper body – Day-to-Day)
Pittsburgh Penguins: RW Reilly Smith (upper body – OUT), LW Matt Nieto (knee – IR)
Michael Carcone ‘looked in the mirror’ during recent, emotional times
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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
