The Arizona Coyotes will face the Chicago Blackhawks to end an awful road trip.
Game Preview
This road trip can not end soon enough. The Arizona Coyotes have yet to win a game in their four-game trip, including a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last night.
Last night’s matchup was one of the Coyotes’ worst this season. They started strong with an early goal from Michael Carcone but completely fell apart in the second period and could not mount any comeback in the third.
Playing a significant part in the loss was the Coyotes’ penalty kill, which continues to struggle this season. The Flyers had two power play goals in the game, including a goal 25 seconds into the second period, which tied the game.
Per Craig Morgan, the plan is for the Coyotes to start Connor Ingram tonight. Ingram looked good against the Colorado Avalanche in his last matchup with 31 saves on 34 shots, and he will hopefully look good tonight against Chicago.
The Chicago Blackhawks are another struggling team. They lost their last five games and have the fewest points in the NHL. They are also the only team not to have at least ten wins this season.
The Blackhawks have struggled to generate much offense in a year where everyone seems to be scoring goals. They have scored the fewest goals per games played (2.16), and there is a chance they will be without Patrick Kane tonight. Kane is having a down season with only seven points and 20 assists, but he is still a big piece of the Blackhawks’ limited offense.
In addition to being unable to score, the Blackhawks are giving up a lot of goals. They have been splitting games between Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock, neither of which have been very good, and they average 3.76 goals against per game. Granted, the Coyotes are sixth with 3.70.
Players to Watch
Arizona: Barrett Hayton – Hayton had two assists in the Coyotes’ last game, his second multi-point game this season. He has looked great as the season has come along and will hopefully continue to improve.
Chicago: Seth Jones – Jones had a goal in the Blackhawks’ last game and is probably the Blackhawks’ best defenseman. He comes into tonight’s game with two goals and nine assists in 27 games.
Injuries
Arizona: Matias Maccelli (lower body), Liam O’Brien (upper body), Bryan Little (ear), Andrew Ladd (knee)
Chicago: Andreas Athanasiou (questionable, illness), Patrick Kane (questionable, lower body), Tyler Johnson (questionable, illness), Mackenzie Entwistle (undisclosed), Jujhar Khaira (undisclosed), Jarred Tinordi (face)
Puck Drop
Tonight’s game will be at 6:30 pm Arizona time and will air on Bally Sports Arizona Extra and ESPN 620AM.