Arizona Coyotes (23-19-3) at Florida Panthers (28-14-4)
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Starting Time/Venue: 5 p.m. MST at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL
The Arizona Coyotes head over to Florida for a set of two games back-to-back against the Panthers tonight, and the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow.
Back on Jan. 3, the first game between the Coyotes and Panthers was tied 1-1 going into the third period before Florida scored three goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart had a tally each in a span of 0:42 apart as the Panthers won 4-1 over the ‘Yotes.
Since then, the Coyotes are 3-1-1 in their past five games and have two consecutive victories coming into tonight’s matchup. Arizona defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 on Monday.
At the forefront of this resurgence, Clayton Keller has been a tear as of late, recording 11 points in his last eight games.
Arizona are just two points from the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, as they have 49 points while the Nashville Predators hold 51. Keep in mind, the Coyotes do have two games-in-hand on Nashville.
As for the Panthers, their dominant start to the season has recently been halted, going 1-2-2 in their five contests. They snapped out of a winless skid on Jan. 22 as Florida won 4-1 over the Predators.
Turning into a star this season, Reinhart has a 10-game point streak on the line this evening after amassing 14 (11 goals, 3 assists) during this stretch.
The Panthers sit seventh in the NHL in goals-against, having a low total of 120. Helping in that statistical category, Florida loves to shoot the puck whenever they have the chance to, being the No. 1 team in the league in shots per game (34.2).
Can the Coyotes right that wrong and get revenge on the Panthers or will Florida complete the regular season sweep?
Key Stats
Goals
Coyotes – RW Clayton Keller: 19
Panthers – C Sam Reinhart: 34
Assists
Coyotes – LW Matias Maccelli: 24
Panthers – C Aleksander Barkov: 35
Points
Coyotes – RW Clayton Keller: 42 (19 goals, 23 assists)
Panthers – C Sam Reinhart: 58 (34 goals, 24 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), D Matt Dumba (upper body – OUT), D Troy Stecher (lower body – IR)
Florida Panthers: C Aleksander Barkov (lower body – OUT), C Nick Cousins (concussion – IR)
Coyotes recall Victor Söderström from AHL amid injuries to defense
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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
