Preview: Coyotes Host Blues at Mullett Arena on Saturday Night

Dec. 2, 2023 | 7:00 pm MST | Mullett Arena, Tempe, Ariz.

WHERE TO WATCH:
• Antenna: 61.1 Phoenix, 9.2 Tucson
• Phoenix Cable: Cox 95
• Phoenix Satellite: DirecTV Channel 61, Dish Network Channel 61
• Bullhead City / Lake Havasu: Optimum channel 6
• Flagstaff: American Cable channel 4, Optimum Cable channel 6
• Maricopa: Orbitel channel 11
• Pinal County: Mediacom channel 13
• Prescott: Sparklight channel 61
• Sedona: Optimum Cable channel 6
• Show Low / Winslow Sparklight channel 61
• Tucson: Cox channel 85, Xfinity channel 1179, Orbitel channel 208

WHERE TO LISTEN:
• Radio: ESPN 620
• Stream: Arizona Coyotes App, NHL Mobile App

Another game, another former Stanley Cup champion.

Fresh off a 4-3 overtime win over the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche, the Arizona Coyotes are set to host the St. Louis Blues at Mullett Arena on Saturday. The matchup marks the fourth-and-final time the two teams will face each other this season, and it comes as the Blues lead the Coyotes by one point in the division.

The Desert Dogs won the first matchup 6-2 on Oct. 19, but have dropped the next two, 2-1 on Nov. 9 and 6-5 on Nov. 22.

Arizona is coming off a strong finish in November, having won three straight against the three most recent Stanley Cup champs: the Vegas Golden Knights (2023), Colorado Avalanche (2022), and Tampa Bay Lightning (2020, 2021).

The Coyotes are expected to skate with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the second straight game, and they have called up forward Ryan McGregor as an emergency recall from the Tucson Roadrunners following an upper-body injury to Travis Boyd, sustained in Arizona’s win over Colorado.

“He was playing really good hockey for us,” head coach André Tourigny said of Boyd. “He changed his role this year from last year. The last year he played a lot on the top-six, and this year he had to be on the bottom-six and be very responsible defensively, and he was an example. We were talking a lot about ‘Coach Boyd,’ and he was so textbook on his positioning and everything defensively.”

Goalie Connor Ingram is expected to make his fourth consecutive start, and he’s won his last three games to improve to 9-3-0 with a 2.52 goals-against average, which ranks 10th in the league among goalies who have started at least five games, and a .922 save percentage, which is seventh.

Forward Michael Carcone is tied for the team lead with 10 goals this season, and has scored three in his last two games. The 27-year-old has two goals against the Blues this season.

Arizona’s power play got back on the board against the Avs following a five-game scoreless streak, and the Coyotes rank sixth in the league with a 25 percent conversion rate. Their penalty kill dropped slightly after allowing two power-play goals to the Avalanche on Thursday, as it now ranks 16th with a 79.49 percent success rate.

Arizona still has home games remaining against the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers in its current homestand before it hits the road for a three-game trip.

Player to Watch: Against the Blues it’s always Clayton Keller, and for good reason. The 25-year-old has 11 goals and 17 assists against St. Louis in his career, including four points in three games this season.

ABOUT THE BLUES
St. Louis has come on strong following a slow start to the season and is coming off a 6-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Blues are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, posting a 5-6-1 record on the road this season.

Forward Robert Thomas continues to lead the team with 23 points, and Jake Neighbours’ nine goals are tops. The Blues’ goal scoring continues to increase by the game, as they average 3.00 goals, which ranks 20th in the league, compared to 3.09 goals allowed per game.

“It’s about respecting their offense,” Tourigny said. “They’re a team that doesn’t shoot a ton, but they are a quality team. You cannot measure their performance by the number of shots on net, but you can measure their performance by quality.

“They’re the best team in the league on the rush.”

Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer continue to split time between the pipes, with the former posting a 7-6-1 record with a 2.98 GAA and .910 save percentage, while the latter is 5-3-0 with a 3.03 GAA and .905 SV%. Hofer has earned the decision in each of the games between the two this season, going 2-1-0 with a 2.77 GAA and .905 SV% over the three games, and is expected to start tonight after leaving the ice first following today's morning skate.

The Blues’ power play has improved drastically since the teams first met this season, rising from three percent to 10.45 percent, and they have recorded a goal with the man advantage in four of their last six games (4-for-21, 19.04 percent). St. Louis’ penalty kill ranks 15th with an 80.36 percent success rate, and has not allowed a power-play goal its last three games.

“The biggest thing is to not give them free offense,” defenseman Juuso Välimäki said. “That’s what we’ve done too much against them. We have to defend with five guys and be ready for their rush. We know they have skill.”

Player to Watch: Neighbours has six goals over his last five games, catching fire a quarter of the way through the season. The 21-year-old forward has an assist in three games against the Coyotes this year.